Birthright
by redhaze03
Summary: John Egbert is just a regular boy who lives a regular life. A nerd, a social outcast, mostly ignored by his peers, all of his friends are all online. Normal, just all normal... Until his 17th birthday. John comes into a strange and unique inheritance that throws his world and everything he knew about it into a loop, and all he can do is try to hold on. (rating will be bumped up)
1. Prologue: Almost the big day

I've been stewing on this idea for a while now. But I'm awful at multi-chapter fics, so please bear with me. Admittedly this fic was inspired by the memory of a Harry Potter fanfic I read forever and a day ago, I think before the last book even came out. Oops. But I'm really hoping to make it it's own story.

* * *

TG: so tomorrows the big day huh  
EB: if by 'big day' you mean my birthday, then no.  
TG: what do you mean no  
TG: you cant fool me egbert ive known you since we were 11  
TG: i know when your birthday is  
EB: it hasn't passed midnight for some of us, future man. :p  
TG: you caught me  
TG: im from the future  
TG: 2 hours in the future  
TG: shit gets all up and unreal two hours from now egbert  
TG: time travel is invented  
TG: civil war breaks out on the streets over which show is better american idol or the voice with small pocket rebellions for the x factor  
TG: gas prices sky rocket to $50 a gallon overnight  
TG: anarchy everywhere  
TG: fires break out in north dakota and california breaks away from the rest of the country  
TG: also taylor swift comes out of the closest as the as giant rug munching lesbian  
EB: oh my god!  
TG: the world is a place gone mad two hours from now  
TG: its been my mission all along to make sure you make it to your 17th birthday  
TG: the fate of the world depends on it  
TG: and i have succeeded  
TG: another job well done the world can rest easy another night knowing dave strider is protecting it one magic loving nerd at a time  
TG: youre welcome  
EB: pfff! except my birthday is two days from now and you haven't succeeded at all.  
EB: nice going, asshole.  
EB: you had one job, dave.  
TG: crap  
TG: where is my flashy thing  
EB: would that even work over the internet?  
TG: couldnt hurt too try

Fuck, he was rambling worse than usual. At least John didn't seem to notice his more over the top than usual behavior, or if he did, he was nice enough to keep his trap shut about it. God, he was being so stupid. Just get to the point.

TG: you doing anything special on the big day?

Or you know, get to a vague approximation of the point. That works, too.

EB: well...  
EB: not really.  
EB: it's not really that big of a day to begin with.  
EB: i mean, it's not like i'm still a little kid making a fuss about my birthday.

Dave felt a twinge in his chest reading it. Because he knew John well enough by now to read between the lines. John wasn't a popular kid in his school. There'd never been any big parties for him since before middle school. Back in the days where a party was free cake and ice cream, and not a testament to your social standings.

He knew well enough from previous years that John's birthdays were spent either going out with his dad for dinner and a movie, or more recently, a night in with a movie on livestream.

EB: my dad will probably make me my favorite dinner.  
EB: and if you're not busy maybe we can watch there's something about mary.  
EB: or something else...

Oh god, someone save his heart, because Dave was sure it was breaking right now. John just assumed that his asking about the derp's plans was a subtle hint that he might not be a part of it, and now John was trying to coax him back in by picking a movie the blond would like for his birthday movie. No. You can't do that, Egbert. You're not allowed to be that pitiful!

Dave swallowed back the lump in his throat and willed his fingers steady as he typed out his response.

TG: i dont know know about you but ive been craving some declaration of independence saving action  
TG: complete with riding motorcycle with burning flames engulfing skull action  
TG: otherwise the night will be shot to hell  
EB: :D

There, two movies starring John's man crush. He could deal with a double feature of cinematic dregs to make his best bro happy on his birthday.

Plus that emoticon did things to Dave's cardiovascular system that it had no right doing.

EB: sounds like a plan! i'll let rose and jade know about our movie itinerary.  
EB: and i guess you can invite your weirdo brother and his friends since you've been trying to get me to talk to them lately.  
EB: but you better tell him that none of them are allowed to make fun of my movies on my birthday!

A tall order if Dave ever heard of one. Well, for his bro, anyways. English would love the movie selection no matter what, Rose's sister was another wildcard that he didn't know how to predict.

But that's when it occurred to the younger Strider: if his hunch was right, movie night wouldn't mean shit and neither would the promises made for it. Dave felt his stomach twist oddly, not pleasant but not horrible either.

TG: best i can do is tell you that ill see what i can do about it  
TG: bro is a notorious asshole and his friends are admittedly no better  
EB: then why've you been pushing me to make chum pals with them lately?  
TG: ...

Good question. Maybe it would be best to just outright ask.

EB: yeah, that's what i thought.  
EB: you sit there and try to think up a reason.  
EB: dad just came in here and announced its lights out now so i'll talk to you tomorrow.

Crap.

TG: what you still have a bedtime  
TG: dude youre turning 17 in a day  
EB: two.  
TG: less than two almost one  
TG: point is shits messed up if daddy is still telling you to go to bed at 10:30.  
EB: it's a school night!  
TG: yeah and its two hours later over here and look at that  
TG: sandman can't get me down  
TG: all sorts of adult grown up man over here  
EB: yeah but you're also failing chemistry and english lit.  
TG: woundin me deep here egbert  
EB: go lick your wounds then.  
EB: i'm going to bed.  
EB: night, future man!  
TG: later sleeping derpy

- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 00:37 -

So that conversation got him effectively nowhere. Dave sighed, pulled down his shades long and low enough to rub at his eyes, closing his chat window with John to pay more attention to the others he had been neglecting. Rose had just pinged him a few times just now.

TT: John informs me that his taste in fine, cinematic arts is finally rubbing off on you.  
TT: Two Nic Cage films, David?  
TT: I am aghast.  
TG: yeah well things happened  
TT: I take it you're no closer to finding out if John has a tightly locked away secret, then.  
TT: One that could reveal itself in the next couple of days if there is indeed anything to be revealed?  
TT: One that seems less and less likely with each passing day? Hour? Minute? Second?  
TT: Could it be that your sudden bout of clairvoyance was nothing more than blind hope?  
TG: oh my god  
TG: youre sounding just as bad as dirk right now  
TG: i want you to know that so you can realize the amount of shame that you should be feeling but are inexplicably not  
TT: It wouldn't be a bad thing if you were wrong, Dave. It wouldn't change anything between you and John, right?  
TT: Not your camaraderie, and not your feelings about him.

Dave bristled. Fucking Rose and her meddling ways.

TG: course not  
TG: but im not wrong  
TG: i can feel it in my bones  
TG: john is one of us  
TT: And if you're wrong?  
TG: in  
TG: my  
TG: bones  
TT: Sigh.  
TT: One hopes that you packed a decent parachute should you find yourself falling from your high, hopeful perch.  
TT: It's late for me.  
TT: Just remember what I told you.  
TG: yeah yeah  
TT: Good night to you, Mr. Strider.  
TG: night lalonde

- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 00:44 -

Well that was two chats sorted out. Except nothing had been sorted out in those chats at all. Dave only had one more blinking window left and he was loathe to answer it's call. It would be the second conversation he was having with a TT that night.

The asshole was just down the hall, he couldn't get up and talk to him in person?

The window kept flashing at him insistently. With a low, suffering whine of frustration, Dave clicked the blinking tab.

TT: Are you ready to admit you're wrong yet?  
TT: That it is very much possible that you let your attraction to this kid blind your judgement.  
TT: Not to mention make one of the dumbest and wildest theories to date.  
TT: You know there's no shame in developing a boner for this kid even if he isn't one of us, right?  
TT: That's is after all how we all came to be.  
TT: Mostly.  
TT: Not sure how it might work for you down the line if you keep exclusively riding the sausage rocket.  
TG: oh my fucking god  
TG: quit talking already  
TG: i get it  
TG: john might not be one of us  
TG: you know the least you can do is be supportive of me until we know for sure instead of being the colossal maggot munching asshole youre being  
TT: It appears that you think I'm being a colossal, maggot munching asshole.  
TG: christ  
TT: You can call me Dirk. Or Di-Stri.  
TT: Could it be that your short temper and aggression towards me stems from the fact that each passing day just further proves what I've been trying to tell you all along?  
TT: That your friend is nothing more than a normal human despite all fantasies to the contrary?  
TT: Fantasies that in your mind made your attraction to him okay despite that there is nothing wrong with your attraction even if you were wrong?  
TT: You want it to be real because you think it'd make it easier for John to accept and reciprocate your attraction.  
TG: rose is that you?  
TG: i thought i was talking to my insufferable brother but it turns out youre rose and you suddenly decided to change your font to eye raping orange  
TT: Do you need me to be Rose, Dave?  
TT: Are you in need of psychological bullshittery to make you feel better?  
TT: Because I will do it.  
TT: I will be there for you, bro.  
TG: im going to stop talking to you now  
TG: later loser  
TT: You can't run from me, Dave.

- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at 00:51 -

Dave signed off Pesterchum with a sound of disgust. This wasn't what he needed with "D-day (B-day)" so close at hand. If he was wrong, he'd deal with it when he knew it as fact. He didn't need to be told by the closest person in his life and his own brother that it's okay to be wrong before he even knew whether or not he was.

He'd only felt close to a few people in his life, and, as it turned out, all of them had one very particular thing in common. Something they knew about themselves all along and then about each other. Dave knew he was different since before he could remember. What he was, was just a common fact about himself, like the fact that he had blond hair and was left handed. It was simply the way things were. As far as he knew Rose and Jade grew up knowing the same.

But knowing this truth about yourself and admitting it to anyone else was tricky business. Lucky for him, his brother, Rose's sister, and Jade's half brother had laid all the ground work down for them. How they broached the subject with each other, Dave had no idea, nor did he really care. But it made it a lot easier for him and his friends. 'Oh, you're-? Me too! Wow, what are the odds?'

The only odd one out in this calculation was John Egbert, undoubtedly the closest person Dave ever felt to. It was quite the conundrum to the younger Strider for years now, and it occurred to him on his own birthday that the reason for the closeness was that John was like the rest of them, too. Only for some reason that secret never came to light. John didn't have an older sibling that coincidentally seemed to be a friend of his brother, after all. John was a single child. One that still had a parent, something else that was unlike the him and the rest of his friends.

So Dave spent the next four months trying to divulge this secret from his best friend, but the truth of the matter was that he just had no idea how to go about it. All his attempts were laughable at best, and the closer they got to April 13th, the more the words would lodge themselves in Dave's mouth and jam up on his fingertips.

How do you go about something like that anyways? 'Oh hey, Egbert. By the way, I was wondering, are you something more than human? Because you see, I am, and I think we might be the same?' Yeah, no. That wouldn't go over well in case he had been wrong (even if deep in his gut he had convinced himself that he wasn't). Rose and Dirk made fun of him, saying that he was letting himself get his hopes too high over the most ridiculous of things, but the truth of the matter was that he wasn't hopeful as much as he was just stubborn. If he was really as hopeful as they were insinuating he was, he wouldn't be the wreck he was becoming now.

They were right about one thing, though. What did it matter if John wasn't like him? So what? It wouldn't change anything about them. John would still be his best bro, his number one chum pal, the cutest derp to ever exist... dammit.

Dave closed all his browser tabs and put his computer to sleep, pushing away from his desk. With a quick flick of his wrist, he threw a shuriken over his shoulder, hearing it embed itself into his door frame with a satisfying 'thunk!'

"That's mature," his brother drawled, and Dave didn't have to look to know that the older blond was leaning against his door frame, centimeters from where the throwing star had made it's new home.

"Coulda been worse. Could've actually aimed for you," Dave shrugged as he got up, stretching his arms up high over his head, humming in satisfaction as his shoulder joints and several vertebrae popped. He jerked his head one side, then the other, more satisfyingly loud pops filling the room.

"Are you going to continue to avoid the subject?" Dirk asked his younger brother, and his ward for at least one more year.

"Thought I said I was done talking to you about it," was Dave's response.

"That makes one of us, then."

"Bro," Dave sighed his name in quiet frustration, "Look, you don't have to start talking me down about it now. I know that chances of John being like us if 50/50-"

"More like 98.230981/1.769019 against your favor," Dirk interrupted.

"Whatever," Dave flicked his hand dismissively, "The point is, you don't have to try to start softening the blow for me now. Nothing is going to convince me that John's not until I have irrefutable proof that he's not. I'm not wrong about this. I can feel it in my core."

"That's all very sweet and serendipitous, Dave. But odds are that you're wrong," Dirk said, running his hands through his hair. Honestly, talking to Dave about this lately was like talking to a brick wall.

"I'm not wrong."

"But if you are?"

Dave shrugged, "Then John is a normal guy and he'll continue to be my best bro."

Dirk nodded, conceding the argument for now, "Let's hope that you'll be this mature about it tomorrow. And for your sake, I hope you are wrong..."

Dave's brows furrowed, "Why? What the fuck, bro?"

Dirk just shook his head and let himself out of Dave's room, door closing quietly behind him.

Dave frowned at the spot his brother stood at long after he was gone, his thoughts turning themselves into knots trying to decipher that strange bit of encoded information Dirk had just bombed him with. He knew he wouldn't get an answer from his brother if he followed him now and asked. So that just let him to figure it out on his own, and he hated it. Because he never figured out Dirk's encrypted mutterings until it was too late.


	2. The day before

It's the day before John's birthday, and things don't seem to be going according to plan.

* * *

His name is John Egbert and tomorrow is his birthday. He was more excited than he was letting on to his friends, though. His father had been very secretive for months now. And considering that the younger Egbert had just received his license at the start of the year, he held the high (and admittedly impossible) hope that his father was getting him a car.

A guy could dream, right?

Even without the impossible temptation of a car, he was looking forward to watching a couple of his favorite movies with his friends. Dave suggested National Treasure and Ghost Rider. Dave did! DAVE! Which is good, because for a second there, John had been worried that his best friend was going to bail on their now traditional birthday movie livestream.

I mean, it wouldn't have been a big deal if Dave didn't go to the movie livestream. It was just a livestream after all, they had plenty when it wasn't even anyone's birthday. But... Well... It was John's birthday! That only came once a year!

But Dave wasn't bailing, and had not only ok'd Nic Cage movies, he had actually suggested them. Jade and Rose were on board, too. And he wasn't sure, but maybe Dave's brother and his friends might show up, too? Maybe that's why he was so excited. As much as he whined to Dave about his brother being a jerk, he was always excited to make new friends.

He struggled so much with it at school. At sixteen (almost seventeen) he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet, and his baby fat still refused to leave his face (not to mention his small love handles). He had a bit of acne dotting his cheeks, and his hair was always an unmanageable mess. Basically, if his peers noticed him at all, it was usually to give him sideway glances and snickering with each other at his expense. He supposed it could be worse. They could actually go out of their way to bully him. But John was good at making himself scarce when it came to dealing with the more aggressive antagonists. It was almost like he could sense when they were coming.

But that's silly.

And so is the idea that he was nervous about his birthday in any way because of Dirk, Roxy, and Jake.

He'd spoken to them all before, in group and individually, all thanks to Dave's insisting. They were all siblings to his best friends and just like his best friends; all had nearly simultaneous birthdays... on the same days as his best friends...

...

Yeah, that was weird. But John had already questioned the hell out of that oddity to anyone who would humor him about it. No answers were ever really given besides a textual shrug of the shoulders. Their parents must have planned it that way or something, but what are the odds that they'd all meet online and become friends?

Maybe that was how they became friends. They met in a group made for people whose parents made sure all their children would be born on the same day so they can save on birthday parties or something. What a sad existence that was. It made John glad he was an only child.

Not that he was having any big parties lately, but back in the days of innocence and naïveté, the parties his dad threw for his birthday were always the most popular in his class, and not only because his dad made gourmet level cakes for the occasion, but rather because his father would always go all out to make his parties impressive, renting petting zoos and bouncy houses, magicians, and face painting. His father really did spoil him.

Speaking of his father, John was surprised his dad hadn't come into his room yet to make sure he was awake. He still did it even to this day, like clockwork. The businessman was still good at coddling his son, and though mostly annoying, it was strange to suddenly feel its absence. Disconcerting in a way that twisted at his guts with the niggling promise of adulthood.

With a frown, John buttoned the last button on his shirt, slipped on his shoes and exited his room. He was immediately assaulted with the warm, sweet scent of homemade buttermilk waffles. That was usually the breakfast his dad made John on his birthday.

Curiouser and curiouser.

"Dad?" the boy called out as he made his way down the stairs.

"Down here, son," came the reply.

John made his way into the kitchen, sitting at the counter as he watched his dad whirlwind around, checking the oven, the stove, the cupboards, and the pantry, then he rushed out of the kitchen and down the hall to his study, retuning 30 seconds later to continue checking every single nook and cranny for who knows what.

"Dad?" John asked, brows furrowing with worry.

Mr. Egbert spooked like he had completely forgotten John was there. "Goodness, son. Don't sneak up on an old man like that."

John just quirked a brow, because he hadn't been able to sneak up on his dad ever. Not once in his life.

"But this certainly is a pleasant surprise. I didn't have to wake you today. What has you up and about so early, John?"

John gave him another incredulously confused look," Early?" He glanced over at the wall clock.

Mr. Egbert followed his son's gaze and gasped, "Is it that late already? Well, no matter. Why don't you go sit at the table and I'll have breakfast served in two shakes."

John hesitated for a second, then hopped off the counter stool to sit at the breakfast table instead. "What's gotten into you today, dad? I've never seen you this all over the place before. Is something wrong?"

The elder Egbert sighed as he set a plate of a extra large waffles in front of his son, setting a pitche of warmed maple syrup next to it, "I suppose I should tell you now, since it won't make a bit of difference whether or not I tell you before or after breakfast."

John felt a knotting in his gut, "What is it?"

"You won't be happy with me, I'm afraid."

"Dad," John pouted, "What is it?"

"Now son, I need you to promise me you won't overreact."

"Dad!" John huffed, "Just tell me."

Mr. Egbert sighed, "Very well. I'm afraid that I got a call last night, and I need to go on a business trip today. In fact, my flight leaves in three hours, and I'll be gone for ten days."

"What?!" the piece of syrup dripping waffle plopped off of John's fork when he jerked it away from his mouth in shock.

"You're old enough now that I think I can trust you alone at home for that long. The pantry and the fridge are fully stocked, I left you with a debit card for my checking account. I'm expecting you to be mature and responsible about this. I'll be checking in on you nightly, so don't think you can spend this time gallivanting about."

"But dad!" the younger boy was up and rounding the table

"I left a list of numbers on the fridge in case of an emergency. That includes the hospital and a few of my more trusted work colleagues, like Mr. Higgins, and Ms. Rutherford. I know being left at home alone for the first time is a new and exciting experience, John, but I think you are old enough to handle it with grace and dignity."

"But dad, my birthday!" John whined.

Mr. Egbert sighed softly, "I know this must seem very unfair to you, John. It is very unfair. If there was another way, I'd gladly take that option. But this is really important. Please understand."

John didn't want to understand. He wanted to whine and grouse and maybe even throw a tantrum... But his dad was giving him enough credit to be the man of the house for ten days, the least he can do is act like it. "I understand," he muttered unhappily. And then found himself squeezed into a near back breaking hug, "Guuak!"

"I'm very proud of you, son. I'm just sorry that I didn't have time to make you a birthday cake."

Honestly, that was the only think John was grateful for. "Don't worry about it, dad. You can make one when you get back. A small one."

"You're right, of course," the older man nodded with a soft smile. "Now why don't we enjoy your early birthday breakfast and I'll drop you off at school today. Give us a bit more time before I have to go."

John managed a sheepish little smile and nodded, sitting himself back down to his now soggy waffles. He didn't care. Waffles were the only sugary sweet confection that he liked. And he could get away with eating it as a meal, how sweet was that?

They talked throughout breakfast. About the latest movies coming out, which ones John wanted to see the most, and then which ones Mr. Egbert would think were suitable for a boy's John age to watch. John countered this argument with the fact that he could watch any movie his father didn't approve of now, because he was responsible enough to be the man of the house. Mr. Egbert chuckled and ruffled his son's hair, calling him a cheeky scamp.

John was polite enough to not ask about the times he caught his dad just staring at him... wistfully. Yeah, that was definitely the right word for it. Like he was seeing something in him that wasn't there anymore. Something precious lost now and forever more. Like he was still seeing the John he was when he liked to play dress up in his dad's clothes and shoes. It was the weirdest thing.

The drive to school was a quietly animated one, and it seemed like all too soon they arrived at the front of the building.

"Okay, I... I guess I'll see you in ten days, dad...?" John tried to sound chipper, but the look his father was giving him turned his statement into a question half way. "Umm... dad, are you okay?" He seemed to be asking that a lot this morning.

Mr. Egbert seemed to remember himself, and it was all he could do not to reach across the car and yank his son to him, never to let him go. This was important. He had to remind himself of that, "I'm fine, son. I'm just... so proud of you."

John felt his cheeks warm, and it was all he could do not to roll his eyes. Still his same ol' dad, "Thanks dad."

"Oh, one more thing before you go, John." Mr. Egbert reached across to the glove compartment, popping it open and extracting a colorfully wrapped package from within. "I know it's a day early, but feel free to open your present from me now."

John's eyes widened, "R-really dad? I... Are you sure? I wouldn't mind waiting until tomorrow." This was a test to see if he was really overthinking this weird dad behavior. He was quietly pushing. His dad had been acting weird all morning, and now this. There were some very concise rule in the Egbert household. One of them was to never open gifts early.

Mr. Egbert nodded, holding out the gift to his son, "I insist."

John let is brow furrow for a moment, the shrugged it off and took the small wrapped box from his dad, making quick work of the gift wrap.

"Oh my god!"

"It's the latest model, I hear," the smile was readily evident in the older man's voice.

"Dad are you sure?!" John blustered.

"I think it's long overdue, to be honest."

"My own phone!" John cheered opening the box to his brand new iPhone. It wasn't a car, but in some ways it was ever better

"I took the liberty of charging it for you beforehand, and I added myself as a contact so you can call me anytime you might need me. It has unlimited texting and internet, but even so, I don't want you to let that little computer distract you from your school work, young man," the businessman tried to sound stern on the matter, but he was still smiling fondly.

"I promise, dad!" John reached across the car, and it was his turn to give his father a bone crushing hug, "This is the best gift ever! Thanks! I'll see you in ten days!" Like a tiny whirlwind he extracted himself from the embrace and was out of the car, stuffing the phone's box into his backpack and the phone itself into his front pocket. He waved cheerfully to see his father off.

Mr. Egbert found the will to keep smiling, fought the urge to pull his son back to him and never let him go. He wasn't ready. It was much too soon for his son to be growing up. But it was going to happen whether he liked it or not, and the most he could do was to let it happen and try to make things work out for the best.

"In ten days," he confirmed to his son, taking the car off park, "I love you son."

"Love ya, too dad!" John said in a quick, embarrassed mutter, blushing pink as he glanced around at his peers in close enough range to catch that display of familial affection.

Ah, youth.

John waved as he watched his dad go. That had definitely been weirder than usual for his dad... the way he kept looking at him. Almost like he wanted to cry. He had no idea his dad could be quite that sentimental.

Or maybe he was reading too much into it. Like he was putting too much stock about his birthday being a big deal and making him nervous.

He just couldn't help but feel like he had reached a turning point in his life... like something monumental was on it's way...

Oh well! It was only ten days! He'd be back before they both knew it.

John quickly whipped out his new phone once his dad's car was out of sight and he just as quickly punched in a well known number into the text message recipient bar.

To Dave: guess who, loser!

GT: Good afternoon strider  
TT: Sup, English.  
GT: How are you on this hum dinger of a day?  
TT: Gonna be honest with you, it can be better.  
GT: Oh? Whats got you so down in the dumps?  
GT: No wait let me guess.  
GT: Its all this brouhaha with your brother and the friend that he fancies.  
GT: The one he thinks is like the whole lot of us.  
GT: And has been trying to get us all to get along together?  
TT: That would be the issue I am dealing with, yes.  
TT: He's only been home from school for about two hours and I'm about ready to throw him off the roof.  
GT: Come now, dirk he can't be that bad.  
TT: He's not really doing anything annoying, but he's filling the apartment with his nervous energy. Pacing around, waiting for his boyfriend to catch up to his time zone wise so he can squeetext him the entire afternoon.  
TT: I'm at my fucking wits end.  
GT: I dont see what all this blasted hoopla is about anyways.  
TT: I don't really get it, either. But Dave's fixed up his panties in a wad about it.  
GT: Sounds chafing.  
TT: It is. For everyone involved.  
TT: I already told him the odds of this John kid being like the rest of us.  
GT: The odds do seem rather low.  
TT: Momumentally low.  
GT: Right, but i suppose the heart makes us all think and do ridiculous things.  
GT: The people in this chat not exempt  
TT: Heh.  
GT: And i personally think this john chap is a right stand up fellow.  
GT: Even if in the end nothing comes of all this absurdity, at the very least we'll have made a new chum out of it all,right?  
TT: I guess?  
TT: I don't know. Something about this kid just rubs me the wrong way.  
GT: I think i know what you mean, though not quite the way you mean it. Something about him just... tugs at all my strings leading to who knows where. it's the oddest thing.  
TG: if you ask me that kid sets off all those buzzers because he reminds me of someone  
TG: and you guys feel it too  
TT: Hey Rox.  
TT: When did you decide to grace us with your presence?  
TG: just now  
TG: all presents full of gracefulness to behold  
TG: sup bitches  
GT: Good evening roxy, my dear  
TG: swoo-fuckin-oon  
TG: heeeeeeey jakey bby  
TG: but i aint wrong you know  
TG: twinky mctwinkerson bugs the hell out of you because he reminds you of someone  
TG: and you know who i mean  
TT: We are not talking about that.  
TG: oh my glob dirk  
TG: calm your mammory glands  
TG: so what tha means you gave up on me already di-stri?  
TG: given up on her?  
TG: toss in the towel shes done?  
TT: That's not what I mean, and you know it.  
GT: Say, are we talking about...  
GT: You know...?  
TG: yeh thats it  
TG: sorry engs i know its a touchy subject  
GT: It's fine.  
GT: But i have to say now that you mention it maybe those are the strings young john is tugging on.  
TT: We're not talking about that.  
GT: Blast it all, strider. you're not the only one hurting here.  
TT: That's not what I-  
TT: Look, maybe the spazz reminds me a bit of... her.  
TT: Actually he reminds me more of Jake.  
GT: Me? I'm afraid i don't see it.  
TT: What with his love of horrible movies.  
GT: Excuse you, mr. strider. my taste in cinema is flawless.  
GT: Yours needs a touch more culturing.  
TT: But what I'm actually talking about is this:  
TT: If Dave is right, things could be bad for that kid.  
TT: Because he is way too much like her.  
TG: you worryin the same thingll happen to him?  
TT: As unlikely, we can't rule out the possibility.  
TG: and yer answer is ta ignore it instead of maybe preparing for the unlikely?  
TT: Roxy...  
GT: My dear roxy's got an excellent point there, dirk.  
TG: aw jakey  
TG: prepping to swoon again over here  
TG: imminent swoonage  
TG: hold on to yer hats cuz here it comes  
TG: 3  
TT: Lalonde.  
TG: im just messing with ya di  
TG: unknot those panties already  
TG: aint out to steal your beau right out from under ya  
GT: Goodness me. *mops brow with a kerchief*  
TG: snrk  
TG: *double pistols and a wonk*  
GT: But as i was saying.  
GT: If there is even a remote chance that young dave is right, maybe we should be prepared for the worst case scenario.  
TT: It would seem like I've been outvoted.  
TT: But how do we prepare for the worst case scenario?  
TG: i'unno  
GT: You got me as well.  
TT: Yeah. That's what I figured.  
GT: This is quite the pickle we find ourselves in.  
TG: maybe daveyll have some ideas  
TT: I don't recommend telling Dave about any of this. He's on edge enough as it is.  
TT: I'll keep a close eye on the matter.  
TT: Things start going south, we'll be ready to act.  
TG: yeah but how  
TT: Leave it to me.

Dave's computer clock read 11:42pm. That meant it was 9:42pm in John land, and Egbert had already gone to sleep. He didn't even have an excuse, tomorrow was Saturday and his dad had just left him home alone for ten glorious days. Not to mention it was the eve of the derp's birthday. All signs pointed to John staying up till the break of dawn, but no. He was asleep. Offline for almost an hour now.

It made no sense… unless…

The unless is why Dave hadn't argued John's sudden need for an early bedtime, barely making a joke about Egbert forgetting his afternoon nap. He couldn't let the dork completely off the hook for leaving him hanging like this. That would have been too suspicious.

His heart was threatening to burst out of his chest and run a marathon. Somehow he managed to keep it inside, but he had no idea what to do with himself. He had messages blinking at him from both Jade and Rose, undoubtedly they were concerned about his reaction to John's unusual sleeping habits today.

GG: daaaaaaaave!  
GG: dave, don't ignore me! :(!  
GG: you better not be freaking out on me, mister!

TT: Do remember to breathe.  
TT: I'm sure you're blowing this completely out of proportion.

He ignored both of them.

He wasn't freaking out! He certainly hadn't forgotten how to breathe (for more then 30 seconds). He was fine. He was calm, cool, collected, calm. Fuck, he already thought of calm.

He glanced at the clock on the corner of his screen. 11:43pm. Mother of fuck.

A movie. He'd just watch a movie. That should help the time pass by. He shot off quick "im okay gonna watch a flick" messages to both rose and jade and then he set his pesterchum to Away.

Of course he couldn't concentrate on the movie. All he could think about was John. Was he okay? Was it all starting for him over there in Washington? Fuck, he'd be going through it alone. Dirk had had to help him through his own shit on his birthday back in December, bitch hurt like a motherfucker. How could John's old man leave him in the crutch like this?!

No, calm down, David Elizabeth Strider. This wasn't helping him, it certainly wasn't doing anything that might help John. It was all more than likely that all this was just bizarre coincidence and John had just gone to bed early because he tired himself out wearing his big man shoes for the first time in his life. He'd just have to wait until the daylight hours for John to wake up and see what's what.

He glanced at the clock again.

11:51pm.

FUCK!

'I shouldn't have eaten those old fish sticks.'

Those were John Egbert's thoughts as he rolled off his bed and onto the floor in a miserable heap. He rattled a death groan and curled up into a ball. He had assured himself that the fact that they were kept frozen meant they were okay even if they had been bought over two months ago. You kept food in the freezer to make it last longer, after all. That was perfect reasoning, wasn't it?

His stomach would kindly request that John try to get away with that reasoning now. And added a hearty 'fuck you,' as a parting note.

It all started around 8 o'clock. He had felt tired to the point of dizziness, and despite his most valiant efforts, he couldn't stay up, couldn't even stare at the screen without things slanting to the side. He told his friends he'd be turning in early for the night, sent a similar message to his dad since he hadn't gotten a call from him yet, then crawled into bed. What a way to bring in his birthday, huh? He'd probably spend the entire day nibbling on crackers and toast and drinking lemon lime soda tomorrow. Just peachy. At least there wasn't a birthday cake waiting for him in the morning.

It had only gotten worse from there. Gradually, the dizziness gave way to fever and his stomach began to cramp up with sharp, hot stabs of pain. His throat hurt, his mouth ached, and his entire body started to feel too tight and confined, prickly, itchy, and weird, like he had ants crawling under his skin. He tried to scratch them, but his own touch became too painful to bear. All he could do was twitch and writhe in pain only because it was impossible to lay still.

His body grew too hot, then too cold. He found himself kicking off his bed sheets, then reaching down for them minutes later to bundle himself up with despite the coarseness of the fabric against his overly sensitive skin. It was like his body couldn't decide what its core temperature should be.

"Dnngh... nngh! Aa-aah!" Tears run down John's cheek, burning hot trails that felt like they blistered on contact It was hard to breathe, making each sound of pain that escaped him it's own laborious action.

It intensified suddenly, and his whole body feeling like it's on fire, millions of tiny white hot needles spearing into him at once, tearing a ragging scream from his bloody throat. It lasted for an eternity. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours, and just when John thought he might actually die from the pain it subsided, and it's sudden absence brought such an aching relief, John fpund himself purring...

Literally purring...

Maybe he would have thought that strange when he wasn't about five seconds away from passing out. His body felt like lead, still a little too uncomfortably warm, but quickly cooling. He thought he might have seen the sun rising when his eyes finally slid shut and his mind gave way to blissful dark.

The bliss was short lived.

5:48am.

The moment all hell broke loose in the Egbert household.

It started off with a quiet rumble, that John managed to sleep through, even as it grew louder. It wasn't until the house shook with a deafening boom that the young boy even startled awake.

John stumbled to his feet, nearly falling over three times before he managed to stay upright. His center of gravity felt off, or it could simply be the earthquake that had suddenly hit. Only... the small hairs prickling at the back of his neck told John that it was no earthquake that had woken him up.

He stumbled out of his room and his breath caught in his throat. Something had crashed into his living room. A large, purple... object. It looked like a luxury liner on a miniature scale, but it was in his living room and not in the ocean. The design of it was off, too. The word 'spacecraft' immedieately flashed in John's mind, but he shook that ridiculous thought off.

"Oi, there's the brat!"

Oh shit! There were people in his house. How hadn't he noticed them before?! They were dark, more so than just from the pitch black of the house. Their features were sharp, cheeks, eyes, nose, chin, all sharp angles and points that gave them an eerily inhuman look. Even the big one. There eyes glowed dimly in the dark, and John got the feeling that they saw him a lot better than he saw them right now.

He ran. It was instinct. Though apparently bad horror movie instinct, because he ran right back to his room. 'Jesus Christ, John Egbert, what is the matter with you? You should know better than this! What sort of movie connoisseur are you?!' Mental berratting would have to wait! The boy had to act fast.

He grabbed a jacket and his phone, forgetting his shoes, they'd take too long to slip on, already hearing heavy steps making their way upstairs. He opened the window and without thinking twice climbed onto the sill, reaching up to pull himself onto the roof's edge. No time to think, just act. No wait! thinking is important, too. Never forget to think!

Balancing his way to the smooth center of the roof, John dialed 911.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Yes, hello! My name is John Egbert and somebody has broken into my house! They're after me right now, they've chased me onto the roof."

"Sir, I'm going to ask you to calm down. Please tell me your location."

"I just did that!" John yelled into phone, then rattled off his address anyways.

"Don't you fucking move, you brat!" a voice came from his left. From his window.

"Oh shit! They've found me! I... I have to go! Please send help!" John didn't wait for the answer, he hung up the phone and he took off down the other side.

This is gonna hurt, this is gonna hurt, this is gonna hurt!

John slid off the room, aiming himself to fall into the thick bushes in the backyard.

It was amazing how surprisingly little it hurt. John chalked it up to adrenaline. He didn't wait to try to figure it all out. As soon as he had his bare feet under him again, he took off, slipping on the dw slick grass, vaulting over the back fence (something else he could marvel over later) and down the streets that would lead to the woods.

He strained his ear to to hear if they were following him still, knowing he'd only slow himself down if he tried to look. All he heard was his own ragged breathing and sirens in the distance

He dialed his dad's number and it immediately went to voice mail.

"Fuck! FUCK! Dad where are you?! I don't know what to do! They're chasing me!" he hung up after that.

He was on the run, he could hear someone catching up to him now. Where to go? What to do? Think! Think!

He couldn't. As a last ditch effort he dialed the only other number he currently had on this new phone. He ducked under low hanging tree branches, turning left or right with no real sense of direction of where he was going. Away, was all he could think of. His heart failed him by another fraction with each ring that signified another second the call wasn't answered.

And then it was.

"Nnngh... Egbert, do you have any fucking idea what time it is? We didn't all go to bed at 8pm..."

"Dave! Oh fuck, Dave! They're after me!"

"What?" the voice on the other end was suddenly much more alert. "Who is chasing you?! Why?"

"I don't know, I just- AAAAH!" he screamed as he stumbled over a root and went flying, the phone falling out of his hand to fall to places unknown.

"Gotcha now, welp."

John's world spun, vision fuzzing around the edges. A dark figure loomed over him, and all he could notice was the eyepatch the man wore over his left eye, not fulling hiding a horrible scar.

"W-what...? Why..?"

"The why don't matter. Not to you. S'nothing personal, just doing my job. Hold still and I promise I won't have to hurt you as much." The man had something in his hand. It looked like a knife, meaning it was one.

It was a dream... It had a be a dream. The thought kept running through John's mind even as his heart was beating so fast, there was no real way he could be asleep.

"Wake up," he muttered, "WAKE UP!"

The man snorted softly, "Sorry, kid... But this is as real as it gets."

The man's friends had caught up with them by then, surrounding John on all sides.

"Let's get this over with already. We've wasted enough time here and it's too fucking early to be dealing with this," said the second tallest of the group, brushing a leaf off his black suit. Even in the dark, John could tell it was well pressed and tailor made. He picked up some odd insights living with his dad.

"No fucking kidding, ain't getting paid enough for this," eyepatch guy replied. "Now come along all quiet like, kid. There's a good boy."

"Poor little guy looks so confused," the short one said, the most sympathizing looking in the bunch. John thought surreally how funny it was that the midget was calling him little.

"That's not our concern," nice suit guy said.

And then the world flashed green and a mass of black stood beween John and his would be kidnappers.

"Sorry boys, not today!" A familar voice chirped with a giggle. The mass of black turned around to reveal a girl with long, black hair and... pointed things on her head... ears...? Wait, hhe knew that long mass of hair.

"Jade?!"

Jade winked, "The one and only. Now hold on, this might... tingle." That was all the warning she gave before the entire world flashed green again, and this time grabbed hold of John and pulled him along for the ride.

* * *

I can already tell that this story is trying to become much more than I ever thought it would be. What even is this chapter? Is that... Is that the Midnight Crew? Holy fuck, I think I just cameo'd the Midnight Crew. What are they doing? Why are they after John? Where did his dad go? And who are Dirk, Jake, and Roxy talkig about (that one should be a bit obvious)?

I'm trying on a whole bunch of new muses for this story. Slick and Droog being a few of them. This is my first time writing Jake, Dirk, Roxy, and even Rose and Jade. I hope I'm doing them justice.

Please let me know what you think so far! I'd really appreciate it. :3


	3. What Change!

His head felt like it was in a vice. A much too tight pressure all around accompanied by sharp throbs at his temples like his heart had showed up in his skull to have a showdown with his brain and there clearly wasn't enough room for both of them. John was willing to bet this was what a hangover must feel like. He hoped he never had to find out for sure.

He heard voices, too, muffled and far away. He hoped they were actually as far away as they sounded and not distant echoes from his own head. Otherwise it might be time to question his sanity. He tried to work his mind past the sharp throbs in his head to figure out what was being said.

"No, I'm sure of it, it wasn't trolls."

Trolls? What?

"Who was it, then? What did they want with John?"

With him? Who? Trolls? What would trolls want with him? Wait, trolls aren't things that are real...

"I don't know. I didn't have much time to try to figure things out. I had to act fast. I couldn't stand around and ask them their agenda, they were armed and I wasn't. Getting John out of there was my top priority."

Oh right, those guys... Wait. Where was he now? What happened? He remembered a bright flash of green...

He looked around himself. The bed sheets that covered him were decorated with the suits of playing cards, hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. There were random posters on the walls, nothing that John really recognized, so he moved on. Across the foot of the bed was a thick board of wood held up by cinder blocks in a makeshift table, a large, HD computer screen resting on top of it. There were things on the floor, too. But John couldn't make them out. Presumably it was the CPU, maybe a printer and other computer gadgets. Maybe there was a speaker?

Across the side of the bed was another table made out of a thick wooden board and cinder blocks. It was littered with papers and some contraptions that he couldn't name, but if he had to guess, they were probably music mixing doodads. A small window, blinds up, glass down, it was dark out, and then a shelf, and from this angle John could just make out edges of a few jars with... things floating in them. He shuddered, oh. Ew.

More posters, another table, this one looking like a proper desk, though it wasn't really used like one. It had more music doodads on it, turntables it looked like, a whole row of carefully lined vinyl records, another poster, a wall scroll, swords on the wall. This was all forming a very clear picture of who this room belonged to. John was actually pretty sure he had seen a lot of these things already when he video chatted with Dave. So this had to be his room...

He was in Dave's room... Dave lived in Texas.

"That doesn't help us, though! Are they going to come after him here?"

"I don't know, Dave. Let me go back and ask them."

Dave... And Jade...? Wait, he had seen Jade! Hadn't he...? She had appeared in a flash of lime green. Wait... that couldn't be right, could it?

"You know, your sarcasm doesn't help us."

"Neither does your panicking, so calm the fuck down!"

"Don't mind him, he's stressing out over sleeping beauty over there."

Over where? Did he mean him?

"How long has he been out now anyways?"

That sounded worried.

"Sixteen hours, thirty one minutes, twelve seconds, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, sevent-"

"That stopped being impressive five minutes after the first time you did it, lil bro."

So that was Dirk...? John was trying to make sense of what he was hearing. Though recognizing speakers didn't help make sense of what they were saying one bit.

"Why hasn't he woken up then?"

Wow, Dave sounded frustrated.

"Well, he did just go through his Change"

"Who called it, by the way? Who fucking called it?"

"Really Dave? You're doing this now?"

"Just tell me who called it, Harley."

A long, suffering sigh, "You did. Jackass," that wasn't Jade who answered, but apparently it satisfied Dave, because he let the subject drop after that.

"It's really almost a miracle that he was able to run from those guys like he did, I was pretty useless for a couple of days after my Change."

Change? What change? And why did it sound like it had a capital 'C' when they said it?

"It probably took its toll on his body and it's trying to recuperate. The news did say the 911 call put John on his roof, and I found him in the woods, blocks away, minutes after that."

News?

"Not to mention John's Change was significantly different from any of ours. Especially since he's a boy."

What change?! And what did his being a boy have anything to do with it? Dave was a boy, if he went through this change what made John's so different?

"Listen to the dog witch, your girlfriend'll wake up soon."

Wow, Dirk was a huge jerk!

"Bite me, fairy prince."

Thank you, Jade.

But he still had no idea what they were talking about. What happened to him? Why had he been almost kidnapped? How did he get to Dave's apartment? What change? And why would his 911 call be on the news? Had he really been out for over sixteen hours? How was it possible for him to be in the same vicinity as his friends when Dave lived half a country away, and Jade always claimed to hail from an uncharted island way out in the middle of the ocean? Had they put him in an airplane unconscious? And how had Jade gotten to his neighborhood in the first place?

He supposed the only way he was going to find out was if he forced himself to get up like he had been avoiding. If he hurt this badly already, he didn't want to risk further movement. Somethings just couldn't be helped, though.

"Nrgh," he'd been right. Even a failed attempt to sit up was too painful.

"John?" Jade's voice got closer, as did the sounds of loudly stomping combat boots.

"Oww," John whined and tried to curl over himself, except that was painful, too, so he stopped that attempt halfway.

"John!" Jade's voice was beside him, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

John might have felt bad for making her worry like that under normal circumstances, right now everything hurt too much for him to care.

"Too loud," he managed to croak out.

"Oh! I'm sorry," the girl whispered this time lowering both the decibels and the pitch of her voice so that her naturally high pitched tone wouldn't grate on the poor boy's ears, either.

John sighed in relied, chancing an opening of his eyes again, "Thanks..."

His endeavor was rewarded by the sight of a smiling face, darkly tanned, offsetting jewel bright lime green eyes, framed by wide, round glasses and tumbles of long, black hair. She wore a hood designed to look like she had white dog ears at the top of her head. That was just so Jade. He wouldn't be the least but surprised if she had a matching tail stitched onto her long skirt, too.

"Ummm... What happened? How did I get here?"

Jade bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth, "How much do you remember?"

John frowned lightly, "Tell me what happened and I'll tell you if I remember it," he wasn't falling for the lying through omission trick. He'd seen enough movies to know how that trick worked.

"You heard the man," Dirk had appeared by then, leaning against the wall next to John's head. Christ! When had he even gotten there?! "It's best to learn to fight your instincts now anyways, or you'll be coddling him for the rest of your life."

"What the hell does that mean?" John gave the older boy the best incredulous look, one he quickly turned to Jade.

"You're right."

"He's right?! About what?"

Dirk quirked an eyebrow and Jade went back to biting her lip.

Everything was awkwardly quiet.

That was what Dave was greeted to when he came in with aspirin and a glass of water.

"Oh my god, Dave! You are my hero," John sighed with relief as he quickly took both from the blonde, downing one than the other respectively.

"Is that gonna-" Jade started.

"I took care of it," Dave replied before Jade even had to finish her sentence.

John blinked a few times, looking at the innocent looking, nearly empty glass of water, "Did... did you guys just drug me?"

"Considering aspirin is a drug," Dirk said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

John shot him a quick glare, instantly regretting the sudden jerk of his head to do it, "Ngh, fuck."

Dirk snorted softly in amusement.

"Wow, you have no trouble fighting your instincts, huh Dirk?" Jade said with a roll of her eyes.

"What instinct?" John asked with a touch of frustration as the older Strider just shrugged his shoulders.

"John, do you know why those guys were after you?" Dave asked, shooting a glare at his brother, or at least John assumed he did. It was hard to tell with his shades, but his lips were pursed into a thin frown, head angled towards the slightly taller blonde.

"Umm..." The short haired brunette's brows furrowed in thought. He shook his head a little after a moment's thought, already noticing that his overall pain was lessening. Wow, that aspirin worked fast. "I have no idea, but they said they'd been hired to do it. That it was just a job, nothing personal."

The other three shared significant looks.

"Do you think...?" Dave started, then trailed off.

It was still enough for his older brother to understand him, "Not their style," he said with the smallest shakes of his head.

"Who?" John asked.

"Dirk's right. That doesn't sound like them at all," Jade said, nibbling on the pad of her thumb thoughtfully.

"Like who?" John tried again.

"But who else would hire someone to kidnap John?" Dave asked

"You guys!" John huffed.

"I don't know," Dirk said, "But that wasn't how it was done last time."

"What are you talking about?" John asked with increasing frustration.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'last time'?" Dave asked at the same time.

"Are you talking about Jane?" Jade was quick to follow up.

"Jane?" John's brows furrowed in confusion.

"So English told you," Dirk answered Jade.

"Who the fuck is Jane?" now Dave was getting mad, too.

"Yeah, my brother was always pretty bad at keeping secrets. He told me I remind him of her a little," Jade said a bit sadly.

"Yeah... I can see that," Dirk nodded.

"Who the FUCK is Jane?!" Dave repeated, not one to be ignored.

"She was like the rest of us," Jade explained in placated tones, "She was like John. And trolls took her right after her seventeenth birthday."

"So you'll ignore me, but not Dave," John asked, nettled.

Dave rounded on his brother, "So you knew this would happen and you didn't even bother tell me about it? You didn't think it'd be important at all? Give your little bro a head's up on what could happen to his best friend?"

"I guess that's a yes," John groused.

"No one knew this would happen. The chances of this kid being like us, let alone like Jane, were less than one percent. All we had to go by was your gut, and let's face it, it doesn't have the best track record."

"Are you really gloating about your slightly superior ability to marathon eat hot dogs without up-chucking right now?" Dave quirked a brow over the rim of his shades, just barely holding on to his cool.

"It's never the wrong time to gloat against you, little brother. Gotta keep reminding you what's what lest you get a big head. I'm actually doing you a favor. You're welcome."

"You know trolls aren't real, right?" John sighed, knowing already he'd just be ignored.

"You have no gag reflex, congratu-fucking-lations," Dave's eye roll was only noticed by Dirk.

"Guys," Jade sighed.

"Bet it comes in handy for a cock monger like you," Dave went on scathingly, ignoring Jade.

"How come I can hear me?" John huffed, exasperated.

"Maybe I'll show your boyfriend just how handy that can be tonight," there was the barest smirk quirking Dirk's lips

"Dave has a boyfriend?" John asked, glancing around in hopes that someone would actually answer him.

Dave growled in answer. Literally growled, and maybe John was imagining it, but it looked like his hair was bristling and ruffling up like an angry cat's. He could only watch the strange transformation with wide eyes. The blond took a half step towards his brother, fingers twitching like he was fighting the urge to curl them into a fist.

"Dave...?"

Dirk's posture loosened, straightening off the wall and looking ready to attack at any moment.

"Guys, this isn't the time for your macho, sibling rivalry bullshit. Kindly shut both your fuck faces," Jade said in placating tones, stepping between the two of them.

"Hey."

"Get out of my way, Jade. I'm going to kick his ass," Dave spoke quietly, voice like a snake poised to strike.

"Guys, hey."

"No!" Jade stood her ground, glaring the shorter blond down, "you're both acting like idiotic, gay Neanderthals, and I won't stand for it. We have more important things to do right now than waste the night letting you two duke it out on the roof."

"Hey!"

"Stand aside, Harley," Dirk's voice was bone chilling, "This needs settling, and it's going to be settled."

"No, I—"

"HEEEEYYYY!" John's voice suddenly cut through the room like an explosion, underlined with a high, trembling chittering sound that made John stop short, eyes widening as he clapped his hands over his mouth. What was that?!

They were all staring at him now, though. Jade with wide eyes and the bespectacled boy was willing to bet the two blonds were giving him the exact same look behind their shades.

John swallowed hard, trying to get his heart to stop racing. He thought it was starting to work when he realized he was making a purring sound, that while sounding strained, had been soothing him. At least until he realized he was doing it, then it freaked him out all over again, the purring turning into a high pitched and ear splitting whirring sound, almost like mechanical grating together.

"Hey. John, chill bro. You're gonna pop a blood vessel or something." Dave sat himself down on the edge of the bed, trying not to wince at the ear drum bursting sound, and reaching out to touch John's shoulder. He hesitated for a moment, hand hovering, then he placed his hands on John's shoulders, firm but careful and he angled John to look at him. "Look at me. John. Look. At. Me."

It took John a near minute to focus outwardly enough to notice Dave was in front of him, not to mention that Dave was grabbing his shoulders. The loud vibrations wavered a little, and John stared at his best friend with wide, blue eyes.

"That's it, man. Focus on me. Now I'm gonna need you to do what I do. You got me?" Dave kept his voice low and soothing, his Texan accent like slow dripping honey.

John nodded, taking in fast, deep breaths.

"Right, good. Now watch me," the younger blond took a deep breath through his nose, held it for a few seconds, then released it slowly from slightly parted lips. "Just do what I'm doing."

It took three more times before John started following his direction, breathing in a long, shaky breath, then releasing it slowly. It caught in his throat and stuttered in his chest, but he kept trying. Dave rubbed his thumbs in small, soothing circles just below his clavicles and John whined, finally taking a deep, even breath. A few more tries and the whirring slowly turned into soft trills, softer and quieter until he went silent, still following Dave's breathing. His head bowed, resting on the blond's shoulder, ghosting warm breath against his throat

"That's it, just like that, deep breaths. Feeling better...?" Dave's voice was a quiet murmur in John's ear.

The boy nodded, swallowing hard and drawing away slowly, "Y-yeah... Thanks for that, I... I'm okay... I..." he took another deep breath and tried again, "What happened?"

Dave looked thoughtful for a moment, "You went through your Change last night and then strangers broke into your house, literally, and tried to kidnap you." Straight and to the point.

* * *

"And do you have any update on the location of the Thief of Rage?"

Slick hated Snowman. Hated her with a passion of a thousand burning suns. From her short, bobbed hair, down to the tips of her god damn legs that went on for miles. The insufferable cow. Bitch acted like she was a god damn queen. Which she had been... once... Whatever, details. It had been a long time ago.

"No, madam, he continues to elude us," Droog answered, all bowed head and respectful tones. God damn suck up, should just get on his knees and fit his face between his hips.

"And the boy?"

"He got away from us, too, your highness," Deuce scuffed his foot sheepishly on the floor.

"Is that so?"

Slick shivered. He didn't have to look up to know that cunt's eyes were on him, sharp and hot as daggers straight from the black smith's forge. So he kept glaring at the floor.

"Let me see if I understand this," Snowman rose fluidly from her old throne, kept not only for sentimentality, but as a token of power, a reminder to any who questioned her just to who they obeyed. Her husband was dead, all power fell to her. "I gave you a simple order, didn't I? Find Jason Egbert. Bring him to me. And you failed in that mission, the four of you against one mere human man."

Her steps were silent as she approached them despite the needled tip heels she wore, fluid, precise, deadly, an expert huntress approaching prey that knew it couldn't escape.

"You came back not only with your tails between your legs, but licking your wounds from that mission, if I recall correctly," her voice was soft as silk, deadly and poisonous.

Even Boxcars cowed at her presence, nodding his head once and keeping it down. Fucking wimp.

She stood before each of them, laying down her accusations, facing them with their failures.

"The best men my armies had to offer, a bunch of bumbling, fumbling fools who couldn't even fetch a simple human for me," she spat the words out vehemently, "I could have sent out trained monkeys to do your job and they would have turned out better results. So tell me, why do I even bother with you useless lot?" Deuce shook in his boots. Poor idiot.

"But I am nothing if not a magnanimous leader. I gave you another chance to redeem yourselves. A simple task. A pawn could have done it. Capture the Thief of Rage's son. Use him to lure him out. But you failed me in that, too. My most trusted. Is this all I can expect from you?" Her voice was soft, ice slowly rising, freezing blood in their veins. Droog could only bow his head shamefully.

"Is that about the gist of it all?" Snowman stood before Slick now, and he could feel the heat of her gaze wishing it could literally obliterate him where he stood.

"Ya forgot about the part where while we were all risking our necks out there in the human word you were sitting your fat ass on this throne, filing your claws, bitch."

The slap was just a warning, but it echoed loudly in the room, and the burning sting of open gashes felt somewhat satisfying.

"My poor, dear, mentally challenged Slick. Always forgetting just who it is you're speaking to," the former queen licked a line of bright red blood that dripped off her claws and down her fingers, relishing the coppery taste on her tongue. Slick found himself licking a small trail that reached the corner of his mouth, too, the action not missed by the former queen.

Slick was about to tell her he knew just who he was talking to, but the look Droog gave him was just enough to keep him from digging his grave any deeper tonight.

"Don't forget who it was that took your eye from you, Slick. I could take the other, too... And your arms, your legs, your tongue just to shut you up for once, anything I want. You belong to me. You all belong to me, and your sole purpose in life is to do what I say."

"Yes, your majesty," came three voices in chorus, mixed with a resentful "Yeah, yeah."

It was enough to satisfy the woman, though. She sashayed her way back to her throne, smoothing down her pencil skirt as she took her rightful seat once more, crossing one silk stocking clad leg over the other. She tugged silky black locks behind a pointed ear and regarded her 'top soldiers' again.

"I trust you not to fail me again. I cannot continue to withhold our failures from our Lord. This is too important. The payout for this job can rebuild our kingdom. Find the boy, bring him to me. This will surely lure out the Thief, and I will deal with him myself. Now get out of my sight."

"Yes, your highness." The four of them shuffled out of the room.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Droog's voice was sharp and reprimanding in Slick's ear.

"Bitch won't kill me yet, she wants my cock too badly to not get a taste of it before she offs me," Slick replied with an easy shrug and a dirty smirk.

"You're a pig," Droog sighed, resigned to the fact.

"What are we gonna do now?" Deuce asked timidly as he tried to keep up pace with the rest of them. It was hard being so short. It was hard and no one understood.

"I say we don't play nambypamby, pussyfootin' games next time, and we just grab the kid by force. He'll survive a broke bone or two, yeah?" Boxcars said, cracking his knuckles.

"We'll have to find out where he was taken to first," Droog hummed thoughtfully, "And the girl... She looked familiar to me. I don't think it was any coincidence that she suddenly showed up to rescue Egbert's child. This will require some research."

"Uuuughhhh, no. Fuckin' kill me now," Slick slapped his hand over his face and pulled down, rubbing his face roughly.

"No one organizes information better than you, Spades Slick. Your contribution to our mission is greatly appreciated," Droog patted his shoulder with a light smirk. Fucking prick.

* * *

"My what?" John asked, blinking rapidly. Change. They kept mentioning that word, but he still had no idea what they meant by it.

"You don't have to hide it anymore, John," Jade said with a smile, "You really don't, because all of us are like you! No one will understand what you're going through more than us."

He gave her a blank look.

"I get the feeling that Pointdexter honestly has no clue what the fuck we're talking about," Dirk said with a small degree of amazement, looking John over with genuine surprise.

"What he said," John motioned to the older blonde, "Even if he said it like a completely insufferable douche taco.

"You're shitting me," Dave breathed out.

"I shit you not," John huffed, "What is this Change you're all talking about?"

The other three all shared looks again and John narrowed his eyes at them.

"You... really have no idea what we're talking about?" Jade asked hesitantly.

"I just said I didn't, and I don't!" John groused.

Another tri-shared look.

"Stop doing that and just tell me what you're talking about!" They were tugging at his last nerve.

"He doesn't know."

"What do we tell him?"

"What else can we tell him? The truth, obviously."

They took turns looking at one another, silently debating who would be the one who dropped this bombshell on Egbert after everything he'd been through already.

In the end, it was Jade who approached him.

"John... I want you to reach up and touch your head like this," Jade raised her own hands and rested them on top of her head, on either side of her hood's dog ears.

"... Ooookaaaay," frowning, John copied his friend and placed his hands on top of his head. He froze, eyes slowly going wide.

"Here we go again," Dirk murmured, and Dave anxiously shifted closer, looking torn between stepping between John and Jade or not.

Nestled among the wild locks of thick black hair John felt a nub on either side of his head. Small, but sharp at the point, just long enough that his hair probably didn't hide the tips of it.

Horns...

John had horns.

He never had horns before. He hadn't had horns last night, he was sure of it.

He grabbed hold of them roughly and winced, biting back a yelp of pain when he tried to pull them off hard. They didn't budge but to yank his head up and back along with them.

"John...?" Jade placed a soothing hand on the boy's shoulder, only to gasp and step back when he tried to suddenly push up to his feet.

"John, don't! You shouldn't be moving around, you just went through the Change, you're going to be weak and dizzy for a couple of days!" Jade tried to explain, tried to push John back onto the bed, but the boy was having none of it.

With a growl and a bearing a teeth that had the girl flinching, John shoved Jade back hard, sending her flying to the opposite wall.

"Jade!" Dave was quick to get to her side, helping her sit up from the heap she had fallen to.

"Holy fuck," Dirk could only watch in morbid fascination.

He hadn't thought he had used that much force, but right now John didn't care. A mirror. He had to find a mirror. Getting to his feet was hard, his everything ached, the world spun, and for a second he thought he was going to fall back onto the mattress, but he managed to stay on his feet. It didn't make walking any easier, though. It was like he had lost his center of gravity. Just like last night when he had first tried to get out of bed when he heard the sounds of attack.

But he pushed past the dizziness, past the awkward, and past the need to curl up in a ball and heave out everything in his stomach.

Dave had a full length mirror on the inside of his opened closet door. John nearly cracked his skull into it, thumbs cracking the edges of it as gripped the sides of the door. Two things stood clear at the center of the chaos of thoughts suddenly making up John Egbert's mind.

One: He wasn't wearing his glasses, but he could see everything crystal clear (when the world wasn't spinning at least).

Two: The horns (oh god, they WERE horns!) on his head were tri-colored. Like candy corn, a deep reddish orange at the base, a closer to normal orange at the center, and a yellow orange at the tips. They curved back, and the end seemed to arch back up very subtly.

Oh, and a surprise thought number three: Blood seeped down the edges of the mirror from where the cracked shards bit into his skin. It was blue.

"Kid?" Dirk was the one to approach him now. As the one with the fastest reflexes, he'd be able to dodge another bout of mangrit. Dave was helping Jade back to her feet now, watching the interaction carefully.

But John didn't hear him, looking at his thumb, where beads of blue welled up from a small wound and trailed down the length of his digit to pool into his palm.

"Hey," Dirk grabbed the panicking boy's shoulder. No amount of training to improve his reflexes could have prepared him for the sudden gale force wind that knocked into him and sent him flying back to hit the wall and crumple onto Dave's mattress.

John turned to look at him, eyes wide, glowing yellow, powerful, unseeing. A crack suddenly spider-webbed itself along the length of Dave's window accompanied by angry howls of wind. One, two, three, fracturing and multiplying until it suddenly burst out and let in tornado winds. They picked up stray selfie photographs first, then larger bits of paper laying around, tumbling clothes and shoes in sloppy circles. It's intensity only built up from there, liftng and moving heavier objects, jars of dead things falling off Dave's shelf, smashing to the ground as the wooden construct pitch forward, narrowly crushing Jade and Dave himself.

"John!" Dave called out past the loud whistling of too much wind trying to get into his room at once from the limited opening of his window. He protected his face and more vulnerable points from flying objects with his arm, dodging others.

But he wasn't heard.

John Egbert had checked out.

"JOHN!"

* * *

I struggled a lot with this chapter, the words just didn't seem to flow. I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit forced and stilted.

But please do review. Let me know what you think so far!


	4. Calm the wind

- tipsyGnostalgic [ TG ] started pestering golgothasTerror [ GT ] at 21:56 -

TG: jaaaaaaaaek!  
TG: jakey jake jake  
TG: oi sweet buns  
TG: jaek*  
TG: jake*  
TG: lol fake 2 real typoz  
TG: jakey dun ignore me im BOREDDDDDD!  
GT: Crikes sake, lalonde, hold your horses, i'm here.  
GT: Sorry about that, was trying to get a hold of jade with no real success.  
TG: yeh  
TG: was doin the same earlier with di-stri an davey  
TG: no luck either  
GT: So then you wouldn't happen to have any update on the whole john situation, huh?  
TG: nop  
GT: Blast it all.  
TG: whoa there jakey  
TG: whoa  
TG: watch youre fuckin language  
TG: u r speakin to a bitch ass lady here  
TG: titties cooch shit motherfuck  
GT: Pffff! Do forgive me, ms. lalonde.  
GT: I don't know what came over me.  
TG: thas ok  
TG: just dun let it happen again  
TG: assbutt  
TG: so you don't got any word on the low down on this johnny kid?  
GT: Not much, i'm afraid.  
GT: Just that yesterday in the early afternoon the young strider messaged jade in a panic and then my little sister space warped away promising she'd contact me as soon as she could.  
TG: pfff jade still tells you when she goes out?  
GT: Of course she does!  
GT: I am her legal guardian until our birthday this year  
GT: Jade is a good girl, still telling her big brother when she's going out so that i don't worry about her.  
TG: friggin wow  
TG: rosey stopped telling me whenever she goes out when she was fifteen  
TG: so ungrateful to her mama roxy  
GT: Rox, you do remember that you're not actually her mother, right?  
TG: shooooooooosh!  
TG: shoosh your face i say  
TG: i take care a her and bring home da bacon  
TG: im her boss kay?  
GT: Okay...  
GT: In either case, jade did get in contact with me later saying she rescued john from ruffians! Can you believe it?  
GT: That's my girl, lady of action, saving sirs in distress.  
TG: ehehe sounds 2 me that someone forgot tha hes not a daddy too  
TG: hint: its u  
GT: Now that is hardly the same!  
GT: That's simply pride that i helped raise my sister to be brave in the face of danger. She was in such a rush to go rescue her friend that she completely forgot to take any firearms with her!  
TG: whoa  
GT: Right?  
GT: She didn't have enough juice to bring john here, so she took him to strider's, since he was the closest.  
GT: And she told me she was going to rest and recharge.  
TG: damn yo sister is BAMF  
TG: gotta tell ya  
TG: it's really fuckin impressive that she could spacey warp twice to such far away locs  
TG: lil girl gettin all super powered huh  
GT: She practices with her powers every day is why.  
GT: She can alice in wonderland me pretty damn right these days  
TG: pfffffff  
TG: like fifteen feet tall and super duper small?  
TG: tha i gotta see!  
GT: I'd rather you didn't. It's friggin embarrassing!  
GT: And anyways!  
GT: Turns out dave was right, this john fellow is like us  
GT: More importantly, he's like jane!  
TG: whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!  
TG: you mean hes all  
TG: i dunno how to describe it but you know?  
GT: I surely do.  
GT: I most surely do.  
GT: It worries me.  
TG: whut? why?  
TG: well totes obv for the same reason that we shoulda worried more about janey  
TG: but a gots the feelin u mean somethin different  
GT: Well...  
GT: I rather think strider fancies him.  
TG: course daveys got the hots for him  
TG: most obvs thing in the world!  
GT: Not dave, dirk!  
GT: He's too antagonistic towards john for no dag blasted reason!  
GT: Like a boy tugging on the pigtails of the girl he fancies in the playground  
GT: And now with this new development...  
GT: Sigh.  
TG: jakey you are blowin this waaaaaaaaaay out of proportions  
TG: di-stri wouldnt do that to ya  
GT: I know that, logically i know that... It's just...  
GT: I know i haven't been the best beau in the world to dirk.  
GT: Sometimes he get so intense i gotta take a break from him.  
GT: What if he decides he likes this boy better?  
GT: What will i do?  
TG: aww bby no  
TG: dont worry about silly things like that  
TG: dirk is head over feet for ya  
TG: if he wanted that kid at all it wouldn't be with 3  
TG: itd be with somethin else  
GT: That's not as comforting as it should be.  
GT: I know i'm just being silly and overly possessive.  
TG: its not silly at all  
TG: loves hard bby  
GT: I suppose you're right.  
GT: It makes me all the more grateful that i have you, roxy  
TG: awww  
TG: u big cutie patoot u  
TG: im always here to help ya when you need it jakey  
TG:  
GT: Heh. Too right, and me for you.  
GT:  
TG: i wonder what dirky is doin right now that hes not answerin us  
GT: He's probably relaxing his own patootie right off in one of his infamous infinite showers.

* * *

"JOHN!"

"Jade, stay back!" Dave dove away from his progressive trek towards Egbert to shield Jade from a barrage of ninja throwing stars, grabbing the nearby speaker to use as a shield.

His room looked like something straight out of the exorcist. Objects forgetting the basic laws of gravity to spin around the room and knock into anything they damn well pleased to. Jade, Dave, and Dirk were left to fend for themselves against the chaos, trying to reach the eye of the tornado. To reach John. The boy stood like a statue in the center of it all, body rigid, head tipped back, lips parted, eyes glowing a bright yellow, hair whipping around in a way that probably would have been far more eye catching if his hair had been longer. The indoor tornado made up for that in terms of impressiveness, though. Who knew such a small body held so much power, anyways? Especially so soon after coming into his heritage.

Dirk thanked any deity listening that they hadn't put the kid in his room. He almost had just to spite Dave. Something along the lines of 'Not going to let you have your crush unconscious and vulnerable in your bed.' But it hadn't been the right time to joke about it. Though now, at the rate things were going, not even two walls and a hallway would save his personal sanctuary from this destruction unless they stopped it soon. It was only a matter of time until a cinderblock crashed straight through the wall and into the hallway.

"Dave, we have to do something!" Jade cried out over the din of wind and destruction.

"You don't think I know that?!" The blond shouted back, then cursed, grabbing hold of Jade, shielding her with his body as his computer screen hit his back full force, biting back any sound of pain so hard that a trickle of bright red ran down his chin.

"Dave!" Jade cried out, clutching his shirt at his sides.

"Nngh, don't cry for me over such a small little bruise, Harely. You'll make me feel like a real wimp," the managed a light tug of a smile.

"D-don't be so stupid, Dave. O-of course I'll worry," Jade sniffled, but she smiled tearily in return, "We have to stop this," she said again, "John doesn't know his limits yet, he's probably not even aware enough to know what he's doing. He could use up all his energy and kill himself at this rate, Dave."

She felt the moment the blond registered the severity of her words, the way his muscles turned into ramrod steel under his hands. But he didn't look to her, instead he turned his gaze towards his brother who was pushed back towards the opposite wall to avoid being stabbed in the gut by the corner of his table top. The Striders shared an unspoken communication, nodding at the same time as if they perfectly understood what the other meant even through the barrier or their shades and their silence. Jade wondered if it was sort of familial telepathy, a strange quirk of their strange heritage, or if they simply knew each other so well that words were not needed.

"Jade," Dave finally turned his attention back to her, "How much you recharged since you got here this morning?"

Jade's eyes widened a little, thinking she understood why he was asking, "Enough to matter right now."

Dave nodded, "I'm gonna trust you to keep yourself out of the line of fire here, alright? I have an idiot to save."

Jade's back straightened, chin lifting, eyes like green steel, "You don't have time to worry about me, Dave. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," and she could take care of them, too.

Dave nodded once, then was gone in a blur. Across the room, Dirk disappeared as well. The space manipulator couldn't let herself worry too much about what they had in mind, she just had to keep them, and herself, safe from the toranado of bladed weapons and heavy music equipment

Flash stepping was a very precise art, one that madly whirling objects threw a wrench into, but a Strider was nothing else if not adaptable and resourceful. Short bursts of movements between flying mixing equipment, records, cameras, computer parts, and flying weapons, broken glass, and dead things formerly in jars. Dave from the bottom and Dirk from the top.

And that was before random objects started to disappear one by one in flashes of green.

Dave narrowly avoided being skewered by a shitty sword, sliding forward to an open spot that Jade had just cleared of his mixer. Dirk climbed onto a speaker as it passed by, using it to pick up air just before it winked out of existence in Dave's room.

One by one weapons and heavier objects disappeared, though there was no helping the dead armadillo that slapped itself against Dave's neck.

"Sorry!" Jade called out and then it was gone.

Dave's room wasn't that large, but in the midst of hurricane John it seemed twice its size just trying to reach the boy in the middle of all the pandemonium. The journey to get to the eye of the storm became a slow, infuriating, round about dance, two steps forward, one and a half steps back, and every fourth repetition required that you take two extra steps back. It was despairing. Or it would have been to anyone other than a stubborn Strider.

Dive under the records spinning like blades, over his old turntable that he had sworn he had already thrown out, narrowly avoiding a shard of glass aimed straight for his jugular.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this kid was trying to off us," Dirk called out as he jumped onto Dave's desk, now nowhere near where it had started.

"His subconscious mind is instinctively trying to protect him. John's panic must have set it into overdrive. It recognizes everything and everyone as an enemy right now," Jade called back over the howl of wind, uselessly trying to get her long hair out of her face to better see what needed to be moved.

"Just fucking perfect," Dave muttered to himself.

"Dave, just how much shit did you manage to fit into your room?" Dirk complained as a ducked under a barrage of throwing knives.

"Not the time right now, bro. And we're lucky we didn't put John in your room, you have twice as many weapons, plus all your robotic bits and tools."

"Boys! Less time bickering, more time rescuing the gentleman in distress!" Jade chastised them both. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

"This is not so much the gentleman in distress as it is an end of level boss," said Dirk as he vaulted over a large wooden board the pushed off its other side to propel himself forward hard and fast, grabbing the brunette boy from behind. "I got him! Dave!"

"I'm on it!" He had a short window of opportunity to act. Being held down set John's subconscious mind to full panic. He heard his wall groan around his windowpane as the wind threatened to rip it off.

Dave dove forward, through the narrow space opened up by Jade between his records and the cinder blocks that were trying to form a herd. He met John and Dirk in the in the narrow calm of the eye, grabbing onto the smaller boy around his middle. He could feel the wild energy buzzing over John's skin, making his teeth vibrate and his ears buzz.

"John! C'mon, snap out of it!" The blond shook his best friend for all he was worth. Cracks formed along the plaster of his wall with little puffs of white dust.

"If this was your plan all along, I'm going to punch you," Dirk said furiously.

"It was a last ditch effort, I didn't actually want to do this," Dave mumbled, pulling a vial of bright green goo out of his front, right pocket.

Sopor slime was hard to come by, usually anywhere you could find the stuff was already crawling with troll sentinels. That didn't make it impossible to acquire, just really hard. But it did wonders for a hybrid's aches and pains, since normal human medicine was usually hit or miss in its effectiveness. Dave had already given John a little before, injecting a droplet of it into his aspirin, but now it looked like he was going to have to use everything he had left in his stash.

"Sorry about this, man. This isn't how I imagined going about this for the first time."

"Spare me," Dirk growled through gritted teeth, struggling to just keep a hold of this small boy and not be sent flying backwards again, "Save your lamentations over your imagined relationship for someone who gives more of a shit than I do right now."

"Fuck straight off the handle, Dirk. If this was Jake, you'd be worse than me."

"The difference is that Jake is actually my matesprit, Dingus Kahn. Oh fuck this. No, we're not doing this again. Drug the kid already."

With a disgusted sigh, Dave popped the vial open and upended the the contents into his own mouth. He could feel his tongue start to tingle almost instantly, he couldn't hestitate on this.

Trusting his brother to keep a tight hold on the derp, Dave focused on gripping John's jaw, forcing his lips into a pucker. The open, unseeing glow of his eyes was just a bit unnerving, but he couldn't allow himself to think on that. He sealed his lips over the smaller boy's, pushing the sopor from his mouth into John's. It wasn't at all a kiss, more of a careful mashing of lips as Dave forced John to swallow the green slime.

But then it was a kiss, John's lips responsive against Dave's, pressing, molding perfectly, tongues meeting, sliding together, curling, John's warm mouth suckling gently, soft and sweet, offsetting the sudden jolt of heat that made itself at home in the blonde's stomach.

"Dave...?" the smaller boy breathed out his name, eyes barely fluttering open to look at him.

The wind suddenly stopped, objects falling down around them in a cacophony of soft patters and loud crashes. The blond didn't notice, all the world was John looking up at him with kiss plumped lips and half-lidded eyes and the knowledge that he had put that look on his face.

But the sopor's effects were quick, hybrids always reacted more strongly to it than full blooded trolls. It was why they didn't sleep in it, they risked falling into a permanent catatonic state if they fully submerged themselves in the gel. John's eyes returned to normal, blue eyes glazed before they rolled up to the back of his head and he crumpled like a rag doll. Dirk was there at his back, catching his dead weight and scooping him up like he weighed as much as a pillow. Dave bristled, biting on his lip to keep from bearing his teeth. He should be the one carrying John. Dirk had no right! Dirk had a matesprit and John was his! His!

Except...

Except he wasn't. What happened just now didn't count. The kiss didn't mean anything, as much as Dave wanted it to. He smoothed his hand through his hair fitfully, then shoved his hands into his pockets, turning away from the sight of his brother kicking his mattresses back against the wall (Jade quickly space warping any debris off it) and then gently tucking John back in under the sheets.

John Egbert wasn't his... And he never would be... not his and his alone. John's fate had been decided something different for him. Something harder, and if Dave was lucky at all, he'd still have to share John with others. And yes, he knew the chances of that had been there if he had been right about John in the first place, but he had secretly hoped that John would still be human enough to not want to accept the quadrant system. Fuck knows Dave struggled to accept it. But that chance had now flown out the window. John Egbert would never be his... at least not only his.

A hand fell on his shoulder and he tilted his head to meet his older brother's even gaze, the form of his eyes visible even behinds his shades from his proximity. From just behind Dirk, he could see Jade fuss with John's hair, fluffing it up to hide his horns from view. It was pointless, of course, but it was the thought that counted.

"Little man, we need to talk about a few pressing details before we do a take two of explaining the kid's new life to him. We were woefully underprepared for take one, and John packs a surprising wallop. It's going to suck. Espcially for you," Dirk's voice was low and rueful. As much as they bickered and fought, Dirk did care about him and his feelings, and at times like this, that sentiment shown through. The taller blond reached up and smoothed down Dave's ruffled hair, patting the top of his head gently.

Dave found himself leaning into the touch like an attention starved puppy, "Yeah... yeah, I know."

"Umm... guys?" Two blond heads turned to regarded the long haired girl. Jade smiled sheepishly, "John should be fine. He's a little gray around the edges, well... you know, human gray, not troll gray, but his head rate and breathing are all normal. And, ummm..." She rubbed at the back of her head, "I tapped out my energy reserve again just now. I don't have enough juice to get back home. Do you mind if I spend the night again?"

Dirk hummed, disengaging from the brotherly affections, "Yeah, don't worry about it. Mi casa es su casa. Anything for Jake's little sister."

"So then... I can take your room for the night?" Jade grinned wide and hopeful, "Your futon sucks ass."

* * *

I tried to do text diamonds in Jake and Roxy's chat, but they kept being eaten up. T_T

This chapter is short, but it told me it was finished there and I listened to it. I'm a firm believer that a chapter should only be as long or as short as it needs to get it's point across. And there's no one who can convince me that Jake and Roxy don't make the cutest pale match. Mostly because I think Roxy is a really good pale match for any of her friends, but probably best with Jake. Roxy was the only one that Jake could honestly talk to about his romance dramas and confusions, the one he was the most honest with, and in return, I think Roxy listens to Jake's advice. *shrugs* I may be alone on this, but I will sit on this ship alone if I have to.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering: The beta kids are all 17, the alpha kids are 22.


	5. Trolls: The Very Abridged History

The weather was becoming just warm enough to be able to enjoy a day outside without having to bundle up like a cartoon Eskimo to do it. It was still very cold, the ground either frozen and unyielding or slushy and soggy, but she didn't let that get to her. Bundled up in her black winter jacket with a inner lining of fleece over her long sweater, she wore striped leggings half covered in thick knitted stockings and a scarf she made herself, Rose braved the great outdoors, her stylish but functional boots squishing on the muddy ground. Very few people understood just how much Rose loved to spend her time out in the forest she called her backyard. Being out in the open air and the quiet, with only nature's unique and soft symphony to contend for her attention, it relaxed her.

Roxy knew she went out, but the younger Lalonde was pretty sure her sister had no idea where she was going, which was just how she wanted it. It was her sanctuary and her sanctuary alone. She was careful not to make her trail obvious, light footsteps disturbing as little of the flora as possible. Only she knew what key signs to look for so that she knew that she was on the right track (though she knew the way by heart).

A flat rock by a small stream that even now was just starting to thaw out from the winter months, Rose would go there when she absolutely needed time to herself. She loved Roxy, but her sister (adoptive mother) could grow to be too much and she had to get away before they ended up in yet another passive aggressive strife that never had a real winner. She would take this time away to either to read, or write, sometimes to knit or draw in peace. Today she just wanted some silence, a quiet place to think. Change was in the air, Rose could sense it like an electical charge that prickled at her skin. It started off far too subtle for her to detect, only to become jarring once it was too late to stop it. And it was indeed far too late to stop fate's design. Her last moments of true tranquility were trickling away slowly, and she wanted to be able to enjoy them while they lasted.

She spread out a soft blanket on the flat rock, black with purple felt trimming as well as carefully stitched purple vinework that looked more like searching tentacles, and she sat herself down primly upon it, taking a deep breath of the fresh forest air. Earth and pine, mud, and the already decomposed mulch of leaves from autumn covering the ground. It was so beautiful out here. Even while everything was still mostly dead with winter than it was coming alive with spring. But then, Rose also held a certain fondness for the dark side of life, the occult and things that represented it, that most people didn't truly appreciate.

Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the brisk, chilling air, wanting to take more of it in.

And then her phone vibrated in her hand knit squiddle bag.

Her brow twitched in recognition of the disturbance. It could be so easy to just ignore it. Just ignore it, Rose. This is your personal time. The world could wait a little longer.

Bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz.

Oh for fuck's sake!

Only one person sent her such rapid fire messages, though Rose was tempted to just let him stew in his self designed web of problems for once. He had grown into the habit of coming to her for quick answers (that she never gave him that easily, you'd think he'd learn by now), it might be good to leave him alone with his thoughts this once, reteach him how to handle things without her. But she couldn't leave her pale mate in the crutch like this. Especially not now that he had gotten exactly what he wanted in a way that he never expected, and probably hated.

Be careful what you wish for, indeed.

With a sound of resignation, she fished her cell phone out of her bag and took a moment to just stare at her Pesterchum app.

Eight messages, all undoubtedly from Dave. Oh wait, nine, ten, twelve, goodness, but he was frantic. It was best not to keep him waiting much longer.

- turntechGodhead [ TG ] began pestering tentacleTherapist [ TT ] at 11:13 -

TG: do you know how lucky you are you live in a house with rooms upon rooms to spare  
TG: can you understand how amazing that situation is  
TG: do you appreciate it  
TG: you probably dont you ungrateful bitch  
TG: do you know where i slept the last two nights rose  
TG: do you  
TG: on the cold unforgiving floor  
TG: because i have a derp in my bed and a girl taking up the only spare sleeping space in this fucking apartment  
TG: you think with all the money bro has stashed away that hed fit us with better living accomodations  
TG: its like saying he doesnt want anyone over  
TG: my brother the crotchety old man  
TT: Are you presuming to tell me that you would have slept anywhere but at John's feet if you had the choice?

Rose smiled to herself and took a sip from her thermos of hot chocolate. Right now she could guess that Dave was either wondering how she knew that, or maybe moving his posterior away from the floor by his bed where he undoubtedly situated himself until John awoke again. Probably both. Honestly, the boy was so easy to read for being such an enigma; she was so surprised more people couldn't read his actions before he made them.

TT: No denials?  
TG: nah  
TG: just continued questioning of why i subject myself to you willingly  
TT: I thought that would be obvious.  
TG: enlighten me  
TT: Perhaps some other time. Right now I am on a mission of addressing your issue of the moment as quickly as possible so that I may go back to the serenity I have only just now found myself in.  
TG: is that rose speak for 'im high as fuck right now stop bothering' because i can come back later  
TT: Let's pretend it is.  
TT: But feel free to tell me what troubles you anyways.  
TG: okay cool  
TG: john had no idea what he is  
TG: what we are  
TG: and he freaked the fuck out  
TG: completely trashed my room  
TT: You told me all of this last night, Dave.  
TG: yeah but im still no closer on figuring out how to lay down the news when egbert wakes up  
TT: Well there are two others there with you who are probably far better at speaking to John about what it is he can come to expect, physically, biologically, emotionally, and mentally.  
TT: You could simply leave it up to them.  
TG: yeah see  
TG: that dont work for me  
TT: Oh?  
TG: yeah bro would treat it like a biology lesson all hard facts and no sympathy  
TG: this is what it is you gotta accept it  
TT: Right.  
TG: and harley would be too feelsy  
TG: too prying  
TG: and shed treat it like a science experiment too  
TG: lets document the shit out of this shit  
TG: every everything you feel emotional of physical gotta get that down  
TG: keep a notebook  
TT: You know, this is far more informative on your personal opinions of Dirk and Jade rather than saying much about how they would handle the situation with John.  
TT: So what do you suggest would be the best method to opening John to this Wonderland he has fallen into through the metaphorical rabbit hole?  
TG: i dunno  
TG: i guess focus him on whats still normal while getting him to adjust to the radical  
TG: maybe bring to light the cool shit and carefully slip in the bad in a way he can stomach

Rose idly studied a caterpillar that was crawling by her thumb. She coaxed it onto her fingertips and let it crawl over the length of her fingers to her palm. Oh Dave. She had learned early on that he didn't so much want someone to tell him what to do, as he wanted someone to lead him to the answer he already formed in his own mind. In the end he would do what he thought was best, and all you could do is assure him it was a good idea, or coax him to soften or strengthen his approach. You could never fully change his plans, just gently modify.

TT: In other words, you want to soften the blows for him.  
TG: i guess?  
TT: It's not a horrible idea.  
TT: You just have to make sure that you don't carry John the entire way. Teach him the road, aid him when he stumbles, but don't carry him through it. He needs to learn how to walk this path on his own.  
TG: okay you lost me  
TT: I thought I might.  
TT: Basically: Do not coddle him.  
TT: John is strong, both physically and mentally  
TT: It might be a good idea to focus on the positive while gently feeding him the negative.  
TT: But don't forget to tell him the drawbacks. What he needs to watch out for, the dangers his heritage comes with.  
TT: This isn't a fairytale.  
TT: This is very much real.  
TT: Make sure he understands that.  
TT: And that in reality everything has it's up and down side.  
TG: yeah  
TG: okay yeah  
TG: i think i get you  
TT: Good.  
TT: Take care of him, Dave.  
TT: This is going to be harder on John than it was on any of us.  
TT: And that includes Roxy, Jade, and myself finding out about our own little drawbacks to our Change.  
TG: youre not  
TG: you know  
TG: gonna hold this against him are you  
TT: Of course not, don't be ridiculous.  
TT: We all have our roads we must travel.  
TT: Ours are just a bit different from the norm.  
TT: Is there anything else you need help with or can I go back to being one with nature?  
TG: still taking that as 'im high as a fucking kite' but yeah were good here  
TG: ill talk to you later  
TG: let you know how it went  
TG: if egbert ever wakes up  
TT: Change is never easy on any of us, Dave.  
TT: And none of us came into our powers as quickly as John did.  
TT: Or as powerfully.  
TT: He might sleep for days, you realize that, don't you?  
TG: ...  
TG: yeah okay  
TG: talk to you later.  
- turntechGodhead [ TG ] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [ TT ] at 11:37 -

Oh Dave... Rose sighed with the smallest upward tick of her lips. She shouldn't have found it as sweet as she did, after all, this situation with John was quite dire. But... it was always enamoring to see Dave so out of his 'cool' element. She lived to see him fluster more than anything else. She gently placed the caterpillar back on the ground, near the trunk of the tree behind her.

Hmm... perhaps she needed a new hobby.

No, that was silly.

And oh, apparently all the messages hadn't been from Dave after all. Her Pesterchum app informed her she had another message waiting for her. Best see to that quickly as well.

TT: What do you see?

Straight and to the point, how very unlike Dirk, and yet she had been expecting it. Black lips parted very slightly in an uncharacteristic grin, revealing a small, but defined fang. So much for her time of quiet contemplation. Ah well.

TT: Where to begin...

* * *

"He's adding the lemon juice to the Declaration, you're missing out on all of it, John," Dave tilted his head up from where he parked his ass on the floor of his room by the bed. Screw Rose and her not real clairvoyance. He hadn't been there the whole time! He had gotten up! Moved around. He had cleaned up what he could salvage from Hurricane John, which thankfully included his computer, though there was a large crack on his screen. Probably from where it hit him at Mach 2 speed. It worked, that's all that mattered, even if the color was off.

His ass hurt from sitting on the floor for so long (though not THAT long), but he held onto a brave face. He had promised the sleeping nerd on his bed a Nic Cage double feature for his birthday, and two days late or not, he was going to hold up his end of the bargain.

Really, he just hoped the power of Nic Cage could magically summon John out of his own mind and back to the world of the living.

"Any luck?" Jade asked as she came back in with a large bowl of popcorn. She had gotten up to stretch about fifteen minutes ago, declaring suddenly that she was going to bring a snack for them. She set it down between them, placed a pillow from Dirk's room on the floor, and then parked her rear on it. Smart girl, Dave should have thought of that, too. It'd save him from the pain in his ass, and it had the bonus of pissing his brother off.

"Not yet," he murmured, and then grabbed a handful of popcorn in hopes that it'd keep Jade from asking him more questions. Everyone was questioning him lately. How do you feel, are you okay, how are you holding up? Why did any of that matter when John was the one that needed serious attention? It was midnight already, over a full day since he force-fed John Sopor and watched his lights go out right before his very eyes.

"You know, if this keeps up for very much longer we'll probably have to hook him up to a saline drip or something," Jade mentioned offhandedly

Dave felt his nerves twitch, "Won't come to that Harls, Egbert's gonna wake up, soon. This Nic Cage movie demands it."

The girl sighed and rolled her eyes, "You're so dumb, Dave. Everyone knows that if you want to summon John to the waking world, you need a Matt Mcconaughey movie. John idolizes Nic Cage, sure, but Matt is his man crush."

"What? That's total bullshit. Mconagay's got nothing on Cage. How dare you call yourself John's friend."

Jade scoffed, shoving Dave's shoulder with a laugh, "What sort of friend are you that you can't tell apart who John wants to be like from who John has a homocrush on?"

"I'm telling you, Harley. Cage is the way to go to summon John back from the void," Dave lightly shoved the girl back.

"Nuh-uh! It's totally Matt! You should go put on The Lincoln Lawyer or Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past or something!"

"It wasn't that douchebag John wanted to see on his birthday, it was this douchebag."

"I'm telling you, it's Matt."

"And I say it's Cage."

"Matt."

"Cage."

"Matt."

"Cage."

"You're... both wrong... Liv Tyler all the way."

"That's a good point."

"I hadn't thought of that."

...

They stared at each other for a beat and then, in unison, whipped around, up to their knees, knocking over the bowl of popcorn. "JOHN!" was exclaimed in unison.

"Hey guys," a hoarse voice managed to whisper, bright blue eyes crinkling in a smile.

* * *

Machines are simple. You could power them up and turn them off, you could build them up, upgrade them, modify them, take them apart, turn them to scrap metal. You could code them to do what you wanted them to (within reason), and you knew their limitations. There were no hidden agendas, the worst of it was maybe dealing with unforeseen glitches due to contradicting codes, but those were simple enough to fix. Robots and machinery are simple. Life... Life is hard... Life is the worst coded piece of shit to ever be programmed. Life was in sore need of a software upgrade.

Dirk sighed and let the sensory input competent clatter on his work table in disgust.

He had said he'd keep an eye on the John Egbert situation. He had told his friends that they could leave it up to him. He had thought it was a complete crock of shit, but he hadn't been lying when he gave his word. He had sent one of the Lil' Seb units to monitor the situation.

It hadn't been sent out in time.

The Seb unit hadn't reached the Egbert abode until John had already been in the middle of his Change. He had gotten video records of all of Dave's Change, as well as Jade and Rose's, but John's was different. Drastic in a vastly different way than the girls' and Dave's just couldn't compare. He wished the unit had gotten there earlier, gotten footage of the transformation from beginning to end. It was fascinating to watch, all of them so, but John's maybe more so, because John was different. His Change made gooseflesh rise on Dirk's arms and the back of his neck, made his heart rate raise a little… It was… oddly obscene.

No… no, that wasn't right. It was harder to describe than that. But watching the Change, noting the differences, and what it signified for the boy in the video, for all of them… it induced an increased heart rate. But Dirk knew better than to let his instincts run his life. He'd have a pissed off little brother if he didn't keep control, not to mention a heart broken mate. Thinking of Jake eased the strange pressure in his chest, and it pulled a small smile from his lips. That's right, no matter what instinctive feeling the twerp could bring out of him, his mind and heart knew better.

Right, well now that that particular subject was settled…

Of course he had no way of knowing that the one in a million chance that Dave had been right (Note to self: have Dave buy a lottery ticket), that they would have had to worry about anything other than trolls getting involved. And really, even this scenario where trolls would undoubtedly get involved eventually was even less likely than John simply being one of them. None of it made sense. Trolls didn't hire others to do their work for them, and how would they have even found out about John so quickly? It took them weeks to find out about Jane, or at least to take her away. It was entirely possible that they were improving in their detection methods, but the machinist doubted it. And it didn't change the fact that they would never hire goons to take a single kid weak from his Change.

But that just created that many more questions that needed answering. Who tried to take John? Why? Who were they working for? What were they after? The whole operation was too perfectly timed. It meant that someone knew about John's heritage when John himself hadn't... Or it had nothing to do with it at all. Coincidence? There was a slim percentage of... God dammit, he was doing it to himself now.

Someone was after John Egbert, that was the fact to focus on. Dirk wasn't stupid enough to believe that matter had been settled. Not even close. And he could worry about the reason behind it more once he had the kid secured. Not to mention it would only be a matter of time before the trolls would find out about John as well. Who knew which situation was worse, these mystery muscle for hire getting their mitts on John, or the trolls taking John away for their own twisted purposes. Dirk felt the small hairs rise on the back of his neck. He couldn't let that happen. And it wasn't just a protective instinct. He had to keep John safe like he had failed to do with Jane.

He had said he'd take care of the John matter, but in the end it was his brother and Jake's sister that had saved the kid. Not Dirk or anything he had done. His little brother had outclassed him in every way. He had acted in the best way he could and in John's best interest. Without struggle and without ego, he got the aid of someone capable of handling the situation head on when he was too far away to handle it himself. He knew his weaknesses and he didn't hesitate to get help from someone who could to fill in where he couldn't. His shortcomings hadn't mattered, he hadn't pushed to see all he could do himself before getting outside help. He had made John his top priority. It made Dave a far better leader than he himself was. He was proud... and jealous.

But that didn't put him out of the game. He wouldn't leave Dave to carry the burden of protecting this kid all by himself. He knew that's what his brother would do, because that had been what he had tried to do five years ago. His ego and his refusal to work with others who would 'just get in his way' had cost him a dear friend. He wouldn't let Dave repeat his mistakes. And he couldn't let himself fail twice. Not now that he knew at least half the enemies they would was facing. The other half wouldn't have it easy from him, either. The Seb unit had caught glimpse of them, had even managed to slow a few of them down. That was all he needed to start the trail. He'd find out who they were and what they wanted.

Of course, words were pretty to hear and pretty to look at, but action always spoke louder, held more conviction than words alone ever could. Dirk couldn't just say that he'd try not play the lone hero again. He had to mean it, he had to prove it. And he had taken his first step towards that already. He had asked their Seer for advice. And then he had her help in planning out their next step, which was to get John to a safe haven where he could be better protected.

He had already booked the flights and chartered the boat.

* * *

"Oh my god, John! How are you feeling? Are you still sore? Does your head hurt? Weak? Dizzy? Fever? How many fingers am I holding up? You don't feel feverish at least. But how are you holding up mentally and emotionally? Are you okay? Do you need another sedative? I know this is a lot to take in."

"Jade! Jade, calm down! I'm okay! I swear!" John tried weakly to bat away the excitable girl's hands from his face, taking hold of them instead and giving them a light squeeze. "I'm okay… I promise," he didn't sound too convincing even to his own ears, and the look on Jade's face, not to mention Dave's dead stare, told him that they didn't buy it either. "Okay, so maybe I'm not okay… but I'm okay enough for now… I'd like some water, though…"

"On it!" Jade yipped and disappeared in a flash of bright green.

"Whoa," John whispered in awe, "I mean… I knew she could do that, but that's the first time I've really seen and understood what she was doing."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Dave asked quietly.

John flinched, biting his bottom lip. He stalled until Jade returned with a glass of room temperature water, then stalled as he took long and slow sips, he stalled until he couldn't and then he sighed, "Umm… I have horns and my blood is blue now… which is pretty weird, but I guess it's just the way things are now?"

Jade was worrying his bottom lip between her teeth again, "That's very accepting of you, John. But you don't have to be so calm about it. None of us were at first and we knew what was going to happen to us. You had no idea, this is a big change for you, and it's understandable that maybe you couldn't deal with it at first."

John nodded even as Dave lightly elbowed the girl's side, earning himself a scathing look.

"I've actually been thinking about it for a while now," John admittedly quietly.

"Wait, what? How long have you been back in the world of the living?" Dave asked with a quirked brow.

"Since around the end of Ghost Rider," the boy admitted with a sheepish smile.

"You've been conscious that long and you couldn't have let us know about it? Let a guy know so he doesn't have to make an ass of himself talking out loud about the imaginary appeal of an action adventure movie based around the Declaration of Independence? Maybe not have spent the last hour worrying about you at least?" incredulity dripped off Dave's every word.

"I was inwardly reflecting, asshole! A lot's happened, Dave! A lot! My dad suddenly left on a business trip, my house was broken into by strange guys in suits who were after me and not anything in my house, not to mention the night from hell I had just before that happened! Only to find out that I'm not even human!"

"You are partly human, though John, we're hybrids" Jade interrupted.

"Whatever! The point is I had a lot I had to reflect on, you know? About what's happened to me, I mean. I still don't know a lot about what it's all supposed to mean, or why it happened, why me and all that, but… I've accepted that it. It's a thing that's real and it happened."

"You've accepted it?" Jade frowned, "Just like that?"

"Well... I..." John sighed, and it was long and tired, "I'm trying to..."

"You've barely hit the tip of the iceberg, John. There's still so much you need to know," Jade informed as gently as he could.

John flinched like he had just been slapped anyways, "Yeah... I figured you'd tell me that. How... how bad is it?"

"Not bad!" Jade tried her best to sound cheerful.

"Jade," John gave her a look, "You don't have to lie.

"I'm not lying!" Jade huffed.

"It's not all bad, John. It can actually be pretty cool. Like this," Dave suddenly snapped his fingers and the lights went out in his room, a quick press of the button turning off the computer screen, leaving them compltely in the dark of night.

"Whoa," John breathed out.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Dave smirked.

"I can see you guys perfectly!" John exclaimed.

"Yep, natural nocturnal vision" Dave nodded and snapped his fingers again, the lights coming back on, "We actually have it better than normal trolls. They get all antsy being out in the daylight, but we're just fine in either lighting.

"Wait... trolls... you're saying trolls are real. Not only that, but that... we're trolls?"

"Part troll," Jade corrected.

"Really?"

"Yeah man, 'fraid so. Them's the breaks."

"And that's why I have..."

"Horns," Jade finished for him.

"Trolls are real?"

"Trolls are very real. Though they perfer the name Alternians," Jade smiled.

"Who the fuck cares what they prefer?" Dave snorted.

John just blinked a few times, looking between his two friends, "Trolls... like... live under bridges, eating goats and people who don't solve their riddles trolls?"

Jade giggled, "No, not that sort of troll."

"Not that far off, though," Dave added.

"Dave!" Jade pouted, "Don't forget that anything bad you have to say about trolls you're also saying about us!"

"Nah, full blooded trolls are assholes, we're saved by our humanity to become something better than both trolls and humans."

"You don't... actually believe that, do you Dave?" John asked, brows furrowed

"No, he doesn't believe that," Jade huffed, "He's just being an insufferable douchebag."

"Trolls are assholes, though," Dave shrugged

"Yeah, they kinda are," Jade conceded the fact.

"Wait, wait, wait! So if we're hybrid trolls than that means... my dad had sex with a troll? My mom was a troll?!" John's voice rose to a yelp.

"What? No, of course not. You're mom was more than likely human," the bespectaled girl gave her friend a strange look.

"Wait... then how...?"

Dave sighed, "Get comfy Egbert, it's time for a story. Jade, if you would do the honors."

"Thank you, David," Jade said with a small giggle, making herself comfortable at the edge of the bed. "Rose is alway better at this part, though."

"Yeah, but Rose isn't here, and John has already suffered enough to let him sit through Rose's telling of 'Trolls: A History'."

"Don't let Rose hear you say that, she'll make you sit through the unabridged version," John teased.

"No more teasing Rose!" Jade pouted, "Only story time now."

"The floor's yours, Harley," Dave motioned magnanimously.

"No one can really say where Trolls came from, or how long they've been around, if they predate humans or came later. They're first brought to attention is Norse and Scandinavian mythology, though. Stories of trolls varied greatly from tale to tale, from their appearance, to their temperament, their magical abilities, if they even had any, their intellgience, and their role in human lives. They were described from giant, ugly oafs with little brains, to even looking almost completely human, beautiful even, smart, conniving. Most stories agreed that they didn't like to live around humans, but did live in groups, usually familial, sometimes even societal groups!"

"Jade, you're losing him," Dave motioned to John's blank face, "Hell, you're losing me and I already know all of this.

Jade pouted, mouth jutted to one side, "Fine. I guess their origin doesn't matter so much as the fact that they are very real beings."

"Wait," John interrupted, raising his arm in the air like he was back in school, "Does this mean that all creatures in fairy tales are scary stories are true?"

Jade's lips pursed, "Well... not all of them, but some of them, yeah..."

"What about fairies? Or ghosts? Or werewolves? Vampires? The lochness monster?!"

"John! We're not talking about which mythological creatures are actually real. One conversation at a time."

"Fine," John groused and settled back onto the bed.

Dave patted his shoulder with a soft snort, "Sorry buddy, maybe next time."

"I just wanted to know if Nessie was real, Dave," John mock sniffled, rubbing at his eye.

"I know, John, I know. Nessie is real, we just have to believe that," Dave put a consoling hand on John's knee.

"Boys," Jade groused, rolling her eyes, "now where was I?"

"Where you were was the reason you were interrupted in the first place," John helpfully stated, earning him a glare from the girl, to which he answered with an impish grin.

"Rude! Anyways! Trolls don't like living among or even near humans, it's why they've become just legends and bad guys in fairy tales."

"Yeah, but then how–"

"John, shoosh! I'm in the middle of the story!" Jade huffed, waving her hand towards the reclining boy. "So yes, they don't like living around humans. Now. There was a point in history where they must have, though, or at least close enough that humans could find them. After all, humans are nothing if not curious creatures. It's one of our best attributes… and one of our biggest flaws."

"She's talking about advances in science, the pros and cons," Dave stage whispered to his best friend.

"Ohhhh," John breathed out, "Thanks Dave, I had no idea," John stuck his tongue out at him in response.

"You guys! SHOOSH! I will stop telling this story now that let Dirk finish it," Jade grouse.

"Oh my god, no," Dave reeled back in genuine alarm, "Anything but that. I'm so sorry, please continue Professor Harley."

"Thank you, Dave. Now. Humans are curious, and I suppose trolls can be as well, after all it takes two to make a baby… Hmm… anyways! Things happened, probably a story in it's own right, but we don't have time for that. So by choice or by force—"

"Ew! Jade!" John complained.

"History isn't always pretty, John," Jade countered, "By choice or by force, human women had troll/human hybrid babies. They had the better qualities of both their races. The trolls longetivity, their strength, even their penchant towards magic. From the humans they gained their ability to live under the sun, their greater speed, and their higher ability to adapt. But in the end trolls wanted nothing to do with the hybrid children. They were shunned by the rest of their race, and even humans had a hard time accepting them. They called them demon spawn and many of them would be put to death. Those that managed to survive lived their lives quietly, married humans, had babies with them, and eventually any and all traits of their troll heritage disappeared down the genetic line.

"But the thing about genetics is that you have pretty much all your family genes in your genetic code, whether they are apparent or dormant, and when two people who carry the Alternian gene have a child together, the gene becomes active again. On the child's seventeenth birthday, their heritage awakens and they fully become hybrids. Like us. How much of the troll's appearnace a hybrid takes differs from person to person, but that doesn't make us any more or less than what we are."

"So... Only human women had the babies? Not troll women?" John tilted his head puppyishly. Beside him Dave stiffened a little, and when he looked to him, he caught him staring at Jade.

"Umm… well… Sometimes, I suppose. But it was probably more common for human women to have the babies."

"Why?" John pressed on.

"Well…" Jade floundered around for a way to explain the next part delicately. She realized that there just wasn't a way to say it that would spare John another mental blow.

"Trolls… don't normally reproduce like humans do…" Dave started for her, and Jade felt grateful.

"How do you mean?" John gave his friend a curious look.

When Dave didn't answer, John turned his attention back to Jade, "Well… see… There are stories saying that trolls used to have a queen that would give birth to all the troll babies."

"Like bees?" John inquired.

"Right!" Jade nodded, glad for the small distraction that gave her more time to think of how to say the next part, "Or ants."

"Or Smurfs," Dave added.

John and Jade gave him a strange look, "Smurfs?" they asked in unison.

"What? Smurfette was the only girl Smurf, how else do you explain how there were so many?"

"Hey, are Smurfs re—"

"We're getting off topic!" Jade barked in anger, "If trolls ever had a queen that would give birth to all trolls, that's not how they do it now, and not how they did it around the time hybrids started to appear. When it comes to reproduction trolls aren't separated into male and female classes to make babies. Instead they go by roughly what translates to dominants and submissive."

"Wait… what? Now I'm all confused," John rubbed at his temple, feeling a headache threatening to return. "So what you're saying is… you don't add boy trolls plus girl trolls to make a troll baby?"

"Right," Jade nodded, glancing at Dave real quick, and nodding imperceptively in agreement to be ready in case John freaked out by the time he followed his trail of thought to its natural conclusion.

"But rather dominant and submissive troll equals baby," John continued.

"That's about the gist of it, yeah," Dave sighed.

"So then… you call girl trolls submissive?" They could hear the hopeful little note in John's voice trying to cling to something basic that he knew to be true his whole life.

"No, there are male and female trolls. Gender identity and sexual identity are two different things in troll society," Jade said in soft, gentle tones.

John could feel his eye twitch, "So then… you're saying that girl trolls can be dominant and if they are, they can get another troll pregnant."

"Some crazy sci-fi shit, right?" Dave joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

John ignored him, "And boy trolls can be submissive… and if they are… they have the babies…?"

"Yes," Jade worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

John silently digested all the information for a few minutes. Outside the wind picked up, but that could have just been normal. The fixed window glass held up well at least.

"Guys…" John started, voice just above a whisper.

"Yeah, man?" Dave glanced at John with a steady face, but his muscles were coiled tight, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Why would you think trolls would be after me, but you're not worried about them being after you? Why is my change different from everyone else's?"

Jade hesitated before answering, "We're not worried about ourselves because trolls want little or nothing to do with hybrids, normally. But recently they've started to make one exception. The truth is, whatever way they used to reproduce, their current way is slowly but surely bringing about their extinction. For every submissive troll, there are about 6 dominants, and each new generation is bringing a decline in their population. They're getting desperate, and at this point they've taken to stealing away hybrid submissive."

"And you think they're after me."

"They probably aren't aware of you yet, but when they do find out you exist, yeah, it'll only be a matter of time before they try to snatch you away," Dave rose fluidly to his feet and stuffed his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders

"You… you think they'd be after mean meaning; you think… you think I'm…"

"John…" Jade gave him a sympathetic look, "We don't think you are… We know you are… You're submissive."

John balked, eyes slowly widening as the new bit of information sink into his skull. Jade and Dave carefully moved into a ready position, fearing the worst even as they hoped for the best. They'd have to hold him down somehow, because they were all out of sopor. But John didn't explode, seconds ticked into minutes with just the brunette boy staring at a spot on his blanket covered legs

You needed a steak knife to cut through the tension that was suddenly filling the room.

"Kiddies, back your bags, we're going on a field trip first thing in the morning," Dirk announced as he let himself into the room.

"I'M WHAT?!" the window cracked as the wind howled outside.

"Oh fuck, not this again. This couldn't have waited?" Dirk sighed.

* * *

Here we go again! Poor John can't catch a break. It's hard being a boy who can have babies. It's hard and nobody understands.

Jade's stories have it wrong, thinking that the Mother Grub was the queen of the troll race. Oh well, can't always get it right!

And I would just like to say this now: THERE WILL BE NO MALE PREGNANCY IN THIS STORY. Just mentions of it. Yes, John can get pregnant, but I've thought about this long and hard, and no, there will be no part of the story that involves John waddling around with his 8 month old preggy belly. It won't happen. Sorry to disappoint some of you. And others of you can take a big ol' sigh of relief. :3

I also keep telling myself to stop doing pesterlogs because they're so dang hard to code... and then my mind supplies a brand new one... OTL


	6. The New You

John discovers quite a few more changes that came with his magical genetic inheritance bullshit

* * *

"Okay. Okay John, I'm gonna need you to just breathe a few times for me, relax the fuck out before you break my room again."

"Dave, I don't think he can hear you!"

"I know he can't hear me, look at him."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Losing control of my life and my room, apparently. What does it look like to you?"

"There's no need to get snippy!"

"Oh no, we're just twenty fucking seconds away from the return of hurricane John. But by all means, let's take this moment to be demure and civilized human beings."

"If not now, when?"

"Will one of you shut the fuck up and calm him down?"

"We can't, Dave used up all the sopor last time."

"Ex-fucking-cuse me, I didn't see anyone else coming up with better plans at the time."

"I don't see anyone coming up with better plans now."

"If you're so smart, bro, why don't you figure it out?"

"I don't have to. We both already know what has to be done, I'm sure Jade knows it, too. You're just stalling because it's not a clean cut, guilt free answer. If you're too much of a chicken shit to get your hands dirty, then I guess that just leaves it up to me."

"No! ... I'll do it."

"Dave! No, you can't!"

Dave ignored Jade's protest. He knew what Dirk had in mind. And it probably would calm John down. No. Not probably, it definitely would. But it had other side effects, ones that would more than likely upset his best friend, make him feel like he had been taken advantage of, once he was aware enough to realize what they had done. But no other answers were forth coming. The wind was already picking up in his room, sending papers and pictures swirling and scattering in all directions, whipping their hair around like they were caught in a windstorm. And all that would be nothing if his window busted open and let in the real air current outside.

It had to be done, and if anyone was going to do it, it wasn't going to be his brother. It had to be him. And he had to act soon, because he had seconds before the cracks on his window gave way again to let the building storm outside in.

A quick glance at Jade told the blond all that he needed to know about her standpoint in the matter. She knew exactly what he was going to do and she didn't approve one bit. She didn't protest more than her initial exclamation, though. She understood that their options were much too limited, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. Sorry Harely, sometimes the bad answer is the only one you have to work with.

"Sorry, John," Dave muttered quickly, then pinned the panicking boy with glowing yellow eyes down to the bed with his own body. He used his legs to pin down John's at his thighs, his left hand holding both of the smaller boy's above his head by the wrists.

His right hand smoothed through John's hair, petting the surprisingly soft locks until he found what he was looking for, a small horn, gently curved in a wave, pointed sharp at the tip. They were new, so they still felt a little soft and fuzzy, not to mention they'd grow larger still. The shape of them now promised that they'd be majestic as fuck. Dave bit back a sudden and inexplicable wave of sour in the back of his mouth. Fuck, was he developing horn envy? What the actual fuck?

And completely the wrong time to focus on that issue, too.

The texture was solid, almost completely smooth at the tip, becoming a bit spongier the lower his fingers slid down, warmer, but with very little give, like a soft pad covering a bike handle. It was hottest at it's base where Dave could feel the gentlest pulse of John's rapid heart beat. This was the part that was still tender and exposed, not yet hardened like the rest of the horn. It was sensitive, a perfect spot to manipulate panicking trolls and hybrids with horns to calm the fuck down.

The Strider took hold of it between his thumb and index finger and gently rubbed.

John's rapid breathing choked on itself, stuttering on a tiny little trilling sound that sent heat shooting down Dave's spine.

This was wrong, this was so wrong... It shouldn't have been like this.

But right now it had to be done.

He rubbed just a bit more firmly and he felt John go limp under him, tensed muscles effectively turning to jello. The wind died away almost instantly after that, glowing yellow disappearing from his eyes.

"That's it, just... just breathe for me, okay?" Dave whispered softly against John's ear, hating how much of an effort it was just to keep his voice casual. This wasn't the time to let his hormones get in the way, he was just trying to help a friend.

"Dave...? Dave, what...?" John mewled. He tried to lift his hands up to push Dave away, but his muscles felt weak, like they were made of warm gelatin. It took him a moment to even realize that Dave was holding his hands captive above his head, "Dave?!" panic creeped back into his voice.

"Sssssh, it's okay, I got you... just... just relax a little while longer," the blond murmured softly, rubbing at the base of his horn again.

"Ah-aahn...!" The sound escaped the smaller boy in a shuddery exhalation that turned into little shivers down his back.

It felt... it just felt... indescribable, like liquid bliss being poured down his skull, trickling down his spine, lighting up his nerve endings like sparklers covered in warm, and at first he wasn't sure how much he liked the weird sensation, but then his body decided for him, and it's answer was a soft, rumbling purr. The world fell away to fluffy, glowing hues and delectable stimulation. John squirmed, hiccuping soft sounds of pleasure between the constant buzz that seemed to be rumbling in his chest.

"I'm sorry," he heard Dave mumble against his ear, his breath so soft, so warm, but he couldn't really remember what he had to be sorry for.

Heat and tingles rushed down his spine, to his arms and legs to his fingers and toes, spreading across his chest, puddling in his stomach and lightly dribbling further down. He butted into the touch, into Dave's amazing hand, and his whole body arched up, wanting those magic hands to do the same amazing things to it.

His breathing started to speed up in a whole new way, deep lungfuls that only fed the fire growing in his stomach. "Oh, please," he heard himself mumble, hoping Dave understood just what it was he was asking for, because he himself had no idea. But he wanted it. He needed it like he craved air to breathe. His back arched into a perfect bow pulled tight, hips rolling into delicious pressure, breath catching in his throat. He never wanted it to stop. So all he could do was cry out in dismay when it suddenly did.

"Hnnn... nooo," he grabbed hold of Dave's wrist when it let go of his hands, looking up at him pitifully. His lips parted, but he didn't know what to say, 'please keep fondling my horn'? No... that.. that didn't sound right, that sounded weird and creepy. Wait... Why was Dave touching his horn at all? What had he been doing again?

Blue eyes blinked as the rest of the world slowly started to focus back to life. Dave was at the far end of the room, facing away from him, and between them Dirk looked at him with his frustratingly unreadable poker face. Jade's expression was a mixture of pity, understanding, mixed together with an embarrassed blush.

"What... just happened?" John asked once he felt coherent enough to speak, carefully sitting up. His body still felt heavy and pleasantly warm, but it felt foreign now, somehow not quite right.

Jade sighed, as always, she was the one who answered the tricky questions, "You were starting to freak out again, so Dave rubbed your horns to calm you down. Something he shouldn't do without permission!" The last part she shot over his shoulder at the slouching blond.

"Bite me. How about next time you think of an answer on such short notice," Dave shot back with a shrug of shoulders, still refusing to face them.

John just blinked owlishly between the two of them, reaching up to touch his own horn. It... didn't feel particularly amazing when he did it, "I don't..." he started, then trailed off, not sure how to word himself.

"It's the base of your horns, John. And don't, it's not very polite to do that in public," Jade papped his hands away from his head.

"It's not...?" he asked, confused.

"No... it's... a kinda private thing." Jade said poking her index fingers together.

"Private...? Wait... Does that mean...? Did... Did Dave just molest me?!" John asked, feeling cold dread chase away any and all lingering warmth.

Jade bit her lip sheepishly, Dave tensed.

"Something like that. And you begged him not to stop like a two dollar whore," Dirk snorted with a bit of amusement.

"What is your deal, anyways?!" John glared at the elder Strider, feeling bristled up like an angry cat. He knew he hadn't been imagining Dirk's animosity towards him, for some reason the blond just didn't like him.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's the fact that you've been in my home for two and a half days and you've nearly destroyed it twice now."

"Dirk-" Dave gave his brother a warning look.

John flinched, looking around the room. It really had looked like a tornado have been through there, "I... I'm sorry..." His anger drained out of him quickly, leaving only a heavy and dark remorse, "I don't know how I do that. Am I really the one doing that?"

"You have an incredible gift, John," Jade said softly.

"I... I don't want it, I didn't ask for this! For any of this!" John said, balling his hands into fists over his lap.

"Tch... he's good at playing the pitiful little fuck, isn't he?" Dirk asked no one in particular.

"Bro," Dave's voice had the edge of a growl to it.

Dirk ignored him, "Look, kid. I get that life is rough for you right now, shit has showered down upon you like a plague. Right is up, down is left, nothing makes sense anymore. You're open and raw and vulnerable, and it just screams 'Someone please take care of me.'"

"I wasn't-" John tried to defend himself.

"Save it," Dirk cut him off, "stop making excuses, stop stuttering out denials. Life is rough for a lot of people and they manage not to throw catastrophic bitch fits about it every two seconds. They learn to adapt to the roll of the dice life has given 're not a normal human being. You're powerful. You have no control, but that's not a valid excuse to trash the place every time you realize something else has changed. Find out what triggers your power, control it, and learn to accept that this is the way your life is now. This is they way it's going to be, so there's no use crying over what could have never been in the first place."

John wanted to argue, lips moving to form words that wouldn't come out. All he could do was glare indignantly at the blond, staring him down with all high righteous pouting. Dirk held his gaze, John was sure of it, for a few, long, moments, then snorted and looked away.

"And one more thing," Dirk went on. "Kid, you reek. Go take a shower, and while you're at it, get acquainted with the new you. But so help me god, if you destroy that bathroom, I will find what you hold dearest to your heart, and I will obliterate it." He turned to regard the other two, "Our flight leaves at 8am. Jade you're welcome to come with us, or you can get back using your own means."

Jade blinked a few times, "My own...? Are you... Coming to the island?"

Dirk gave a short nod, "Twerp needs protection, and the world needs protection from him until he can get himself in check. The island is our best bet," a smirk tugged at his lips, "Besides, I'm long overdue for a good adventure."

Jade's face scrunched with childish disgust, "EWW! I know what that's code for!"

"And now I do, too" said Dave, nose wrinkling in distaste.

"What...?" John looked at each of them in turn, head tilted in adorable confusion, like a puppy.

The older blonde shrugged, a smirk still tugging at his lips, "I'll leave the situation in your hands again, try to keep him from freaking out. This is an apartment, not a natural disaster simulator."

"I'm still right here, you know," John murmured in a sulk.

Dirk huffed a sound of amusement and closed the door quietly behind him.

"What a jerk!" John exclaimed, throwing a pillow at the closed door, "Is he really always like that?!"

"More or less," Dave answered, brow furrowed thoughtfully.

"He really does seem to have his instincts in check when it comes to dealing with John, doens't he?" Jade asked in soft awe.

"Not as much as you think," Dave mumbled, staring hard at the door as if he could still see the older Strider there.

"Why do you guys keep talking about instincts? What's that about? What instincts do you have that have anything to do with me?" John had just about had enough of his friends talking about things he didn't get like they were supposed to be the most obvious thing in the world.

"Umm... Well... see..." Jade glanced from John to Dave and back again. She sighed. "Fight it, Jade," she murmured to herself, "Dirk is a dominant, just like me and Dave."

"Wait, you're-" John started, but Jade didn't slow down for interruptions.

"As such, we all have this instinct to protect you, a submissive, either from enemies, outside doms, or even from yourself. So basically, if you're upset we want to do pretty much all we can to make you happy again, coddling you, I guess. Which isn't good for you in the long run, unless you want to become this pampered spoiled brat that can't handle anything on his own. We care too much about you to let that happen, so in essence: we have to fight our urges to protect you to order to better protect you."

"Uh, Jade? That doesn't make sense," John said, head tilted curiously to one side.

Jade took a moment to purse her lips thoughtfully before trying to explain again, "We've been trying our very best to break all this news to you gently, John. We don't want to see you upset, and it's even worse to be the reason behind it. But it seems like we can't keep gently easing you into the truth if each new, small reveal ends up like this. Dirk is right. You can't keep freaking out like this. So maybe it's best if we push you into the river, so to speak, all at once. You take in the basics right away and then we'll guide down that information stream until you can navigate it on your own."

John's brow furrowed, "But you already eased me in right? I know I'm not competely human, I have these weird horns, and my blood is blue, and I know that I'm... submissive, which means... I... I can... h-have babies, which I'm still not convinced that I'm not being pranked!" The las part was said in a rush of air.

"There's more to it than that, man," Dave didn't confirm or deny any pranking, "There have been more changes to your body than just your blood and your horns. That's what Bro was talking about getting acquainted with your new self. Just physically, of course. You're still you in your mind and all that. You know... where it counts, not just the packaging."

"More...?" John's voice was just above a whisper. He glanced down the length of this body, to the pajamas he had apparently been wearing for more than two days now, wondering what else was different. "How much more?"

Jade opened her mouth to explain, but Dave beat her to it. "It'd be best if you saw for yourself, confirm it with your own eyes. Why don't you go take a shower, you can start there."

"That's the second time in the last fifteen minutes that someone has told me to take a shower! Do I really stink that bad?"

Jade looked stunned for a moment, and Dave opened and closed his mouth almost imperceptibly, like he wanted to speak, but didn't know where to begin.

"I wouldn't say 'stink' per say," Jade's lips scrunched to one side thoughtfully, "More like... Your scent is really strong right now and to the right people it can cause a bit of a problem."

"A problem?" John repeated blankly.

"You smell like Eau de Submissive and every dominant within whiff distance starts to get hot under the collar."

"What?" the shorter boy stared at the taller like he had started speaking another language on him.

"Never mind anything Dave says, I'll explain it to better, but later, okay?" Jade said, eager to get past this subject.

John's nose scrunched, his lip curling up in a small sneer, lips parting like he wanted to argue.

"Listen to Harley, John. Forget about how you smell and just concentrate on discovering the new you," Dave turned his attention back to his window. "Don't forget to get as intimate as possible. Don't want to miss out on anything."

"Is that really-" Jade bit back her words a bit too late, that that didn't stop we from glaring at the blond's back.

"Am I... going to have another... attack?" John asked sheepishly.

"I can come with you, if you want, John," Jade offered helpfully, turning he attention back to the boy on the bed.

"I... What?! But you're...! And I'm!" John could feel the heat of a blush rising on his cheeks. How was he supposed to identify them all now? Jade was a dominant? But she was a girl! And he was a boy, but also a submissive...? Everything was backwards! And boy or girl, submissive or dominant, John wasn't sure he was ready to let anyone see him naked!

Jade's eyes slowly widened, suddenly giggling, which caused Dave to glance back as well. He snorted softly, fighting back a laugh.

"What?" The smaller boy asked in embarrassment, looking between his two friends, "I wasn't going to say yes!" He felt his blush increase.

"Going a little blue in the face there, Egbert? Don't forget how to breathe just because a cute girl offered to see you naked," Dave smirked.

"Dave!" said girl swatted the blond's shoulder, biting back her own giggles. "John, you don't to be embarrassed! If you think you can handle your self inspection on your own, then we'll give you some privacy. And don't listen to Dave! I think your blush is cute!"

"My..." John trailed off, touching his cheeks. His face felt warm, but what did his blushing have to do with... Oh, oh right. Blue blood... that's what he had now, and obviously that affected the color of his blush. Well wasn't that just perfect? "Oh, hardy har har. Good one, Dave. So hilarious. I am in stitches."

"You would be if you could see what I did," the blonde smirked, then expertly ducked the pillow aimed at his face.

"I would laugh at your face, too, but your ugly mug makes me feel more pity than anything else!"

Jade's breath hitched, and for a second Dave just stared. John swore he saw a tremor in his shoulders, before he was whirling around quickly, facing away again. What was that? Had he gone too far? He hadn't thought Dave would be one to be so sensitive about his looks.

"Dave? I... I'm sorry, I didn't..." Dave's shoulders tensed and John felt a small stab of guilt, biting his lip to keep any more words from getting loose.

An uneasy quiet started to fill the air.

"John, why don't we take you to the bathroom. I'll be close by if you need help with anything, or if you have any questions, okay?" Jade put herself between the two boys, smiling genially.

"I..." John tried to look at Dave past Jade, but the girl's hoodie, overstuffed with her hair, was a tough buffer to look past. He huffed a small, resigned sigh. "Okay... How much worse can it really get, anyways?"

Jade was very careful not to answer that.

Getting to his feet was a harder task than the brunette boy had originally anticipated. His legs felt like bags filled with jelly and his feet felt they like were made out if lead. Not to mention that all his joints ached like he had worked out way too hard. A few failed attempts at getting upright and Jade had offered to help, Dave still staring out his window, facing away from the two of them. Once on his feet John noticed one thing right away.

"Did my pajamas shrink?" he asked as he stared down at the few good inches of ankle and leg now poking out from the legs of his pajama bottoms which drooped below his heel when he had first put them on, not to mention the sliver of exposed stomach from where his top was now too small.

"Well," Jade started with a deep intake of air meaning that there might just be another long story on the horizon.

* * *

His pajamas hadn't shrunk, John had grown.

About five inches pretty much overnight, which would explain his center of gravity suddenly feeling so off the last few times he had tried to get up (though the horns probably hadn't helped with that, either), not to mention the soreness he felt generally all over. Talk about growing pains.

Jade had guided him to the Strider bathroom, and whatever he had been expecting to find (the stereotypical bachelor male apartment bathroom), what he had found wasn't it. The bathroom was comfortably large with no tub, but a large shower that could probably fit two or more people if you really wanted to, but who would really do that? And it was all white porcelain and incredibly clean. It looked showroom new. So this was what Dirk didn't want him to destroy at any cost. John could tell that a lot of effort went into bulding and maintaining this sanctuary.

Jade had spacey warped Dave's full length closet mirror onto the inside of the bathroom door, telling John that there would be quite a bit to take in and the more he could see, the better.

He told her that yhat wasn't at all cryptic, no. But she had left him alone after that, promising to be within hearing distance if he needed help or any sort of support.

John didn't think anything he could find would make him unembarrassed enough to ask one of his best friends (a girl at that) to come into the bathroom and help him while he was naked.

So he had been left alone to acquaint himself with his new self, as it had been put. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be ready, but at the same time he knew he wouldn't be able to live with the waiting much longer. So taking a deep breath and closing his eyes tight, John pulled his shirt up and off over his head, discarding it to the side. He tugged down at the elastic waist of his pajamas pants until they slipped down his hips enough for gravity to take over. He didn't remember his hips being quite that wide, but maybe he was imagining things.

He stepped out of the puddled pants right foot first, then the left. He repeated the same procedure with boxer shorts, kicking them off to the side to form a small pile with his shirt. He had kept his eyes closed the entire time, afraid that when he opened them, he'd see something completely alien and weird in the mirror's reflection.

Okay, that was completely ridiculous! 'John, you're going to find out what these differences are sooner rather than later!' The boy told himself and forced his eyes open.

He wasn't sure he saw any differences at first. He looked at the full length mirror and he saw... himself... Messy black hair and lightly freckled skin, teeth that were always threatening to poke out past his top lip if he just gave it the smallest provocation. He looked... like him.

But at a closer inspection the differences became glaringing obvious. He was taller, clearly, but he had already known that. What he didn't realize was to gain that height, his body had pretty much absorbed the small pudge of fat he had carried around his stomach area, leaving him lean, if not at all that muscluar. Maybe it was the lack of fat to blame, maybe it was someting that the Change had actually done, but his hips did look wider compared to the rest of him, a small flare that he swore hadn't been there before. They looked... like narrow girl hips.

John stepped closer to the mirror, placing his hands on waist, smoothing them lightly down his hips, biting his lip worriedly when they did seem to wider than before. It wasn't an overly noticable change, but it was definitely a change. It was staring at his hips that John first noticed a new birth mark, large and dark, like a blotch of tanned skin just at the edge of his side. Then he noticed another... and another... And they were on both his sides! They were like... spots...? The strange patterning of them made them look almost like leopard spots.

He tried to get a better look at them, angling his head to try to look over his shoulder. That's when he caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror opposite from the bathroom door. His whole back was covered in spots!

"Oh my god!"

"John, are you okay?" Jade's voice came from just the other side of the door, making the boy jump like a startled cat.

"I... I'm okay! Really! I'm fine!" he tried to reassure her, but his voice was so strained even to his own ears.

"Umm... okay, if you're sure. Let my know if you need help or something, okay?"

"S-sure thing!" John called back with a little nervous laugh, trying to keep his breathing and his emotions in check. Don't freak out. Don't freak out.

He glanced over his shoulder to look at his back from the other mirror's reflection. They started at the back of his neck, a small little smattering that suddenly spread wide half way down his shoulder blades, wrapping up along his sides, only to taper down to a small trickle again to the small of his back.

Okay... so he had spots now. That was a thing. That... that wasn't so bad as far as changes went, right? Yeah... it was actually... a little cool! Like those furry things that Jade used to be really into... Minus the fur! It was like a cool tattoo design, and he hadn't had to pay a single dollar for it! And it made him look tougher, like he was wild and dangerous just like the animals who had similar spots. Yeah. He could live with it if he thought of it like that.

John faced the full length mirror again. He could see the bare tips of his horns poking out of his hair. That wasn't so bad, either. If he grew his hair out a little longer no one would even know they were there. He flattened the hair at the front to get a better look at them. They looked like deformed, large candy corns. They started inches above his temples on either side, going up a little, then curving back almost elegantly, only to curl back up the smallest bits at the tip.

He remembered Jade telling him that touching them in public was not a proper thing to do... but he wasn't in public right now, so he chanced a few feels. The tip was smooth, the little points sharp, but as the yellow orange melded to orange proper, the horns started to feel a bit fuzzy, like the layer of felt deers got on their new horns each spring. Heh, John pictured himself rubbing the little nubs against a tree to sharpen them and shed the layer of soft fuzz, but that was silly. And touching them didn't feel at all like it did when Dave had been rubbing them. That was weird.

Orange melded down to a deep red orange at the base and there the horns felt warmer, softer. Giving them a small rub, John shivered. Okay, that... It felt... a little weird, almost soothing, but also a tiny bit ticklish...? Still not at all how it felt when Dave had done it. But maybe it was like trying to tickle yourself. You felt something, but not enough to make you laugh like when someone else did it to you.

But...

What Dave had done hadn't been ticklish. Not at all. What it had been... made John blush just remembering it.

But... but it wasn't like it meant anything because it was Dave! And it wasn't as if John could still feel the callous rough pads of Dave's fingers on the sensitive expanse of... flesh? Cartilage? Bone? What were horns anyways? It didn't matter! The point was he didn't feel it! He wasn't still thinking about it and how it had made him feel! He wasn't gay! He was a boy who liked girls!

But then... none of that meant the same thing it used to anymore, did it? It was almost like John was the girl now, only not because Jade was a girl and even she could still-

NOPE!

Nope, nope, nope! We're not thinking about that! Not right now, maybe not ever! Take those thoughts, stuff them in a box, take the box, wrap it in ten layers of bubble wrap, take that, put it in another box, lock the box in a trunk, and throw away the key! Shove that hidden thought trunk to the darkest recesses of his mind, never to be thought of again! EVER!

Not. Ever!

So let's move on from there now! What else was different?

Well... his face was different. It had lost some of it's roundness, though only very little of it's softness, he had a peeking little view of his cheekbones, and his skin had cleared up, not a single pockmark in sight, no zits, no black heads, no redness, nothing except the light smattering of his freckles. His skin was smooth and peachy pale. His eyes had changed, too. They had gone from steely blue gray to crystal clear sapphires. It was like someone had literally replaced his eyes with liquid precious stone. Those weren't his eyes and they were weird and he didn't like it!

Looking at his eyes was a reminder that John didn't need his glasses anymore. His vision was as crystal clear as his eye color now without them. And come to think of it, he didn't even have the first idea of what happened to them. It was possible that he had left them behind at his house, having completely forgotten them in his quest to get away from his attackers. Or they could be here somewhere in the Strider apartment. But either way, why did it matter? John's brows furrowed, why did it matter? It shouldn't...

It shouldn't.

He shook those thoughts free, tilting his head this way and that to try to find any other minute differences. His hair was fluffier now, still a dishevled mess, but now it looked purposely tousled instead of unkempt, and it had a glossy sheen to it. Wow, who needed expensive shampoos when you could just be born a troll hybrid? Maybe he's born with it, maybe it's some bullshit, magic, genetic inheritence.

He tucked some stray locks behind his ear and found the next change. His ear was pointed, not drastically so, they weren't long and thin, just a gradual up point at the top... like... Like Liv Tyler in Lord of the Rings! No wait, comparing yourself to a girl when you're already having an identity crisis was a bad idea! More like... Orlando Bloom. Yeah, that was good. A manly elf! A boy elf!

And... that was pretty much it for the changes he could find. the plumbing still looked the same externally, which had been something he had been afraid of. That being a submissive meant trading in his hose for a funnel or something. But no, it was still perfectly the same, though his sudden growth spurt hadn't really applied itself downstairs all that much, either. That... that wasn't so bad as far as drawbacks went, it wasn't like John had thought of himself as small in that department before.

So where did that leave him in the Change department? Spots, improved vision, pointed ears, and a comsetic free cosmetic makeover. Plus his horns. John could learn to live with that. That wasn't so bad. Why couldn't Dave and Jade just tell him about it? Why all this cryptic nonsense that had just made him all the more nervous?

Like he didn't have enough to worry about without all of that hush hush bullshit. Those jerks!

Feeling better, John started the shower up. The pressure was amazing on his sore muscles, and the water warmed instantly. He could tell why Dirk was so protective of it, he had never enjoyed a shower more in his entire life. He let himself just enjoy the water pressure on his body for a few long minutes before he started to wash up. He grabbed whatever shampoo was closest. It smelled like citrus, and that was fine. He washed his hair, then moved on to his body, finding both a bar of soap and a bottle of body wash... hmmm...

He grabbed the soap, lathered it up, and started to scrub down. He still didn't get what Dave meant by his scent, but he was determined to wash away every last trace of stink he had on him from days without a shower. His face, his neck, his shoulders his arms, and under, down to his chest and sides, his hips, his legs, knees, feet, toes, then up to wash his privates, and don't forget the under carriage.

John suddenly shivered, brows furrowing. What... was that...? Something felt off, and the sudden implication that something might have changed down there sent ice water flowing through his veins. He set the soap aside and reached his hands down, exploring an area of his body that until now he hadn't dreamed of really looking into or touching besides cleaning.

Taking a deep breath, John plunged in, so to speak. A shudder and a sudden flush of heat on his cheeks, John slid his fingers behind his scrotum, finding a strange puckered line of skin that started just behind his sac. A scar...? No, that... that was a weird place for a scar. He would have remembered having a scar there before...

He traced the line from one end to the other, ignoring the quivering in his thighs, the drops of liquid heat that spread in his stomach. He pressed a bit more firmly and his eyes widened in shock and sudden understanding as the pucker gave way and his finger slipped inside.

"OH MY GOD!"

* * *

"Looks like he found it," Dirk murmured to himself as he studied the footage the Lil' Seb unit, the one that he had sent to John's place before, had gathered of the attack. Know your enemies, it was a motto he lived by, if not the only one.

He stared hard into the dimly glowing eyes of one of the dark beings, the sharp angles of their faces, and peeking view of a line of serrated, even teeth. It clearly screamed inhuman, but it didn't bring him any closer to figuring out who they were and what they wanted with John. He couldn't let this stand. John belong to him, to all of them, and he wasn't going to let anyone steal away their sub. Not again.

He'd let his brother and Jake's sister handle said little submissive when he heard the sudden crash coming from down the hall. Dammit, he had warned that brat about the bathroom, too.

* * *

Dirk... dirk are you hate flirting with John? You can't be, right? It's all in our imagination. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, and I'm sorry if it feels a bit off. I caught a cold Thursday night and by Sunday I was feeling better, but then I slipped in the shower and hurt my back. I've been in pain and/or on meds ever since. But I finally managed to piece this chapter together! And I think I'm going to bump up the rating for the small test of adult content in this chapter, and the one to follow. CHEERS!


	7. Rules To Live By

John seems to be inexplicably okay. This only worries his friends more. Plus: Droog makes the story even more convoluted and confusing. Good job, Droog.

* * *

"I can't believe your brother actually chartered a private jet! Just how filthy, stinking rich are you guys?" John asked as he curled his legs up to the spacious chair, quickly uncurling again to plaster his face against the window, eyes wide with childlike awe and wonder.

"We do alright," Dave shrugged, trying not to blatantly stare at the gentle curve of John's back, dipping in then rising back up at his... "Man, calm down. You're acting like you've never been on a plane before."

"I haven't!" John chirped in answer, turning his attention from the cottony white clouds to his best friend. "I've never been outside of Washington, either now that I think about it! It really is amazing, you know?"

Dave shrugged his shoulders and glanced out his own window, "It's alright, I guess."

"Thhbbt, excuse me Mr. Richie Rich. Oh, I'm Dave, I don't think it's any big deal to fly anywhere I want on a private jet whenever I want. Because I'm rich. I'm so rich I get my bottled water straight from the glacial ice caps of the highest peaks of Mt. Everest. I hand pick the silk worms that make my toilet paper each day because my ass deserves only the best and most delicate of fabrics to wipe myself with. I-AWK!" John was stopped mid-tirade by a pillow to the face.

"DAVE!" He yelped with mock indignation, throwing the pillow back at him.

"Don't act like that wasn't justified." Dave said, then caught the pillow as it was thrown back at him. "Oh that's it. You did it now, Egbert. This is going to happen now."

"Bring it, bitch," John laughed, grabbing hold of his own pillow like it was loaded bazooka.

"You guys! You can't just break out into a pillow fight in the middle of the plane!" Jade chastised.

"Sorry, mom," John simpered, scuffing his foot childishly on the floor. His reward was another pillow to the face. "Jade!"

"Well maybe if you let me finish you wouldn't be taken by surprise!" said Jad loftily. "You can't start a pillow fight in the middle of the plane! Without inviting me!"

John's face split into a wide grin, then he was off his chair, holding his pillow and Jades like a pair of nunchucks, spinning them then in different directions.

Jade grabbed another pillow of her own and charged full speed, holding it up high like a battle ax.

Dave left them to it. It was hard to believe that just seven hours ago John had been an unstable mess, a hiccup away from a full breakdown, and now here he was, acting like he didn't have a care in the world. It made Dave worry. This kind of switch was almost like John was burying all the negative shit down deep. He wasn't talking about it, and he was doing all that he could to keep off the subject of his anatomical changes. But no one forced him to talk about it. It could be a bit catastrophic, and that wasn't a good idea when you were about 45,000 feet up in the air going about 600 mph.

It didn't stop anyone from worrying though. Dave stole quick glance at Jade, still going toe to toe with John. She caught his gaze minutely and she smiled, but Dave could see the strain on the corners of her lips, in the tilt of her head. She was worried, too. Getting John to calm his shit down from his third panic attack had been easier than the first two times around... in a way. At least they hadn't had to resort to drugging him or half-way molesting him to do it. But it had been a lot harder in other ways.

* * *

(Hours earlier)

"John!" Dave wasted no time in busting the door open when John screamed. Jade hot on his heels him.

They had found the boy curled up in the corner of the shower, under the spray of water, tucked into a ball, hiding his face between his knees, arms wrapped around himself tightly.

The sight choked Dave's breathing, the lump in his throat was so big. "John," he approached slowly, not wanting to startle the panicking boy even further, "hey... John, it's me. It's Dave," he didn't bother with his clothes or even turning off the stinging hot spray of water as he slid the sliding door aside and crouched in the tub besides his friend, hair and clothes soaked through in seconds.

John didn't react to his presence, to his voice, at all, rocking himself unsteadily back and forth and shaking like a leaf. There hadn't been any display of power yet, but there was no telling how long that would last.

"John," Dave said his name softly, placing his hand on top of one of the smaller boy's.

"NO! DON'T! NO, GO AWAY! GO! GO AWAY! DON'T! DON'T LOOK! DON'T LOOK AT ME! NO! GET AWAY!" John screamed, violently pushing away Dave's hand.

Dave flinched back, glancing at Jade who looked just as lost as he did. He swallowed hard and tried again, not ready to give up, "'Fraid I can't do that, buddy. You're stuck with me. Look... I know this is a lot to take in, but we're here for you, okay man? Look, this is me getting all emotional and touchy feely on you. It's like something straight out of a feel good, empowering Lifetime movie. You're not alone, bro. You won't be alone as long as you got me here with you." He tried getting close again, placing his hands on John's shoulders this time. A safe, non-threatening spot on his body. Or so he thought.

"NO! GO AWAY!" a gale force wind knocked into Dave, sending him flying back, crashing hard against the bathroom mirror, knocking against the sink on the way down.

"Oh my god, DAVE!" Jade screamed, rushing to his side.

Dave's world swam, fuzzing dark around the edges, but he shook it off, or tried to, wincing when a sharp stab of pain shot up his skull. "M'fine," he tried to reassure Jade anyways, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. He had a nasty lump, but at least his hand didn't come up bloody. His back was another story. It felt like he had a shard or two of glass lodged in there. Perfect.

"Dave, you can't tell me you're fine. Your blood just gave your sink a brand new coat of paint. Let me see the damage," Jade said reasonably.

Too bad for her, Dave didn't feel like being reasonable. "My shit can wait, Harley. Get to Egbert before he really turns this place into a hurricane."

Jade looked like she was ready to argue, then decided against it, nodding tersely. She had better luck in approaching Egbert, for whatever reason. Not by much, but just by enough. "John... it's me. Jade. Please John, we just want to help you. Let me help you." She turned off the water when she heard the pipes start to rattle. "I'm not going to hurt you, John. You know me. I would never hurt you. I'm going to try to touch you now, okay?"

John didn't react outside of a shuddering hiccup, but Jade took that as as much acceptance as she was going to get out of him right now. She gently stroked his wet hair away from his face, murmuring soft comforts. John flinched and cried out softly, but otherwise didn't react adversely.

"Ssshhh, it's okay. I've got you. Everything is going to be okay." She grabbed a nearby towel that had been waiting for John to finish his shower, and she managed to wrap the panicking boy up in it without too much reaction, using it to shield him away from the rest of the room, the world, holding him to her and whispering soft, comforting nothings to the top of his head. John shook in her arms, then seemed to deflate against her, whimpering soft sobs and she gently shooshed away.

Dave could only watch from far away, feeling inept. He had failed to help John when he needed him. He could only stand by and watch while Jade did what he couldn't. He had been useless, there was no other word for it. A sharp stab of pain pulsed in his chest, and without a word, he turned and left the two of them to their own devices. He stumbled dazedly back to his room, glancing at the mess it had become once more, eyes settling on his cracked window with a sigh.

John was too incredibly strong for someone newly changed. Who only knew what he could become capable of as time passed and he honed and strengthened his skills. He was much stronger than Dave had been after his Change, probably more powerful than Dave was even now. How could he protect John from anyone trying to take him away when he couldn't even protect John from himself?

With a disgusted sigh he placed his hand on the cracked glass and closed his eyes. Red light surrounded his palm spreading outward to cover the entirety of the broken glass in a perfect circl. The dials of a clock formed on it's surface and two hands formed in a darker red and spun counter clockwise. The cracks started to crawl back into themselves, towards their center until they disappeared completely, leaving the window completely unmarred. That was the second time he had to do that in two days. Making it twice that he had failed to help his John. Twice when he had been useless but to drug and trick his best friend into calming down, and a third time now in the bathroom when he couldn't even do that much.

Dave's shoulders shook with his all fruitless anger, wincing when he felt stabs of pain on his back, reminding him of his own injuries.

"God dammit!" Dave hissed under his breath, reaching back over his shoulder as far back as he could, undoing the time on his injuries to the point just before four shards of glass tried to burrow their way in. He undid the painful lump in the back of his head while he was at it. He usually didn't use his abilities like this, he liked to avoid using them whenever he could, really. But he needed to be in on top of his game if he was going to be able to do at least anything to help John.

Dirk was right, they needed to move John somewhere where they could both protect him from whoever was after him, and protect others from John until the younger boy had control of himself again. He had been to Jade and Jake's island before, it definitely fit the bill. It was large and isolated, filled with lush, green forests and a complete lack of human population. He just hoped he'd be more useful there than he was now.

With a soft sigh, Dave drew out his threw his duffel bag out from the dark recesses of his closest, shoving whatever clothes he happened to grab first into it, some shirts, some pants, an ironic pair of sports sandals, moving on to his drawers, socks, underwear, and even some swim trunks, all in record time, and all probably a huge wrinkled mess whenever he unpacked them again.

"Dave?" Jade called before letting herself in, carrying an unconscious John up in the air, a soft green glow surrounding him. "He pretty much passed out asleep on my shoulder," she said sadly as she gently laid John out on the bed again, blanketed in the now soaking wet towel. "I don't know how much more he can take of this, Dave. Or what else we can do to help him," she said as she carefully removed the towel and pulled the blankets up to cover up his modesty, all while respecting his privacy and keeping her gaze above the belt line.

"I don't think there's much we can do except help him through the panic attacks when they set in," said Dave, running his hand through his wet hair, slicking it back save for a few stubborn strands that fell over his forehead again.

"I can't believe he really had no idea about any of this. Do you think his dad knew?" Jade asked as she tenderly stroked wet black locks away from John's face.

Dave coughed, suddenly feeling like he was intruding in some sort of special... pale moment.

Jade caught herself and blushed, tucking her hands behind her back.

Dave snorted softly, but chose not to say anything on it, answering her question instead, "I don't know. It's possible. I mean, I'm pretty sure our folks were the odd ones out having a detailed history on our ancestors and their non-human genes."

"Yeah, that's true. But what are the odds that two people who carried the dormant gene would meet, get married, and have a baby and just have... no idea what would happen?"

"Harley, you're assuming that people have to get married to have a baby," Dave joked dryly.

"Dave! This is serious!" Jade tapped her foot in annoyance.

"Yeah, I know that. I don't know what the odds are, but we're looking at the result right there on the bed."

"Poor John... Can you imagine what that must feel like? Not having any idea that he'd be a Hybrid, and then add to that the fact that he's a submissive. It's enough to make pretty much anyone panic," Jade said sympathetically.

"Well yeah... but you handled your Change into a dominant pretty well, didn't you?"

Jade suddenly blushed a bright lime green and Dave had to do his best to keep from laughing. He still wasn't used to the different blood colors. Dirk blushed... never. Dirk never blushed in front of him, so it wasn't like it was something he saw often.

"I... well... I mean, I knew it was a possibility, a far more likely one than the alternative... But the actual... change," she made some vague motions with her hands, "It was... it took some adjusting."

"Did you experiment?" Dave asked with a light smirk.

"DAVE!" Jade yipped, then clapped his hands over her mouth, glancing back at John and sighing in relief when her outburst hadn't woken him. She glared back at the blonde, "We're not talking about that."

"So then yes?" Dave said, tipping his shades down just enough to show his eyebrows waggling.

"Oooh!" Jade fought the urge to stomp her foot or to smack Dave, afraid that any loud noise would wake John up, "That's enough of your subject changing. If we're not going to think tank ways to help John then you might as well just leave. Go on, shoo."

"Wait... what? Did you forget that this is my room, Harely?" Dave asked, brow quirked high.

"No, but when John wakes up, he might react less severely to seeing me than seeing you if his reaction to you in the bathroom is any indicator. We don't know how he'll be feeling when he wakes up. It's better to be safe than to be sorry."

"That's bullshit," Dave argued.

"Nope, not open to complaints, take it up with your landlord, now shoo!" Jade grabbed Dave by the shoulders and steered him out of the room, closing the door soundly as his back.

"Jade... Jade, you can't be serious!" Dave called out, about ready to bang on the door when Jade opened it with a smile, "Geez, I knew you had to be joking."

"Good night, Dave!" Jade said cheerily and threw his duffel bag out before closing and locking the door again.

The blond was left staring blankly at the wood patterning of his door. "Are you serious?!" Dave didn't get an answer, which was all the answer he really needed.

* * *

(Presently.)

He had slept on the futon that night, or rather, he hadn't slept much at all. He had texted Rose a few times, but his moirail was unnaturally silent for once. He told her so and told her off to boot and stewed in his own thoughts until his eyes had finally slipped shut in exhaustion, only to be woken up an hour later via smuppet pile and his brother telling him to get his lazy ass up.

John had awoken up bright and chipper, not a single trace of stress or worry to be found on his brightly smiling face. Any and every attempt to broach the subject of the shower incident was quickly shoved to the side for brighter and airier topics and the message was sent loud and clear. 'We're not talking about that.'

They hadn't had time to be stubborn with him about it, it was a long drive to the airport and an even longer wait to get through customs, but they managed it all without incident. Which left them them here, in this private jet flying to New York, where a ship would be awaiting them to take them all on a magical oceanic journey to an unnamed island that Jade called home.

For the millionth time, Dave spared a glance at his best friend. The pillow fight was over now, John safely tucked back into his egg shaped chair. The boy was fiddling with Dave's cell phone. He had let John borrow it when he realized that he hadn't contacted his dad in days and his own brand new cell phone was lost and probably broken to boot.

"Still no answer?" Dave asked.

John looked up at him, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He shook his head. "At first I thought he wasn't answering because he wouldn't recognize your number, but he didn't respond to any of the texts either, and now his calls go straight to voice mail."

"He's probably just busy. He's a successful businessman, right? Don't sweat it so much." Never mind that Dave had no idea what John's dad actually did for a living. Mostly because John didn't know himself.

"But I haven't talked to him in days, Dave. If I know my dad he's probably worried sick about me. Maybe he's already manning the whole U.S. army to search for me. What if he tried to call me and I didn't answer because I couldn't answer, because my phone is somewhere in a forest back home?" John fiddled with the borrowed cell phone worriedly. "He could be beside himself with worry. Or even worse! What is something happened to him? What if they're after my dad, too? What if they caught him?!"

Dave reached across the table to light pat John's fidgeting hands. "I'd hate to see what happens to any guy that tries to mess with your dad. Your old man is hard core, Egbert," he tried his best at this whole consoling thing that he wasn't used to doing.

"H-heh, yeah. You're probably right," John smiled and it was strained and painful to look at.

All Dave wanted to do was pull the smaller boy into his arms and protect him from the world. But he didn't, he couldn't because John was still oddly squirrely about being touched, a good indicator that last night hadn't been forgotten, but was merely being ignored.

"I guess..." John went on, "I'm just wondering what he's up to right now. I hope he's okay."

"He is, man. You just gotta believe that," Dave placed his hand over John's fingers trembling over the phone's locked screen. John jumped and Dave instantly drew his touch away.

John shifted guiltily, mouth opening with a quick apology that stuck in his throat. He looked away sheepishly and muttered instead, "Yeah... He's fine... He has to be."

* * *

There are simple rules to live by if you want to survive and get ahead in the world, much too many to sit and list, but there are a few that repeated themselves often enough in life to make them worth mentioning.

**#1: Always appease the dame in your life.**

This is crucial to any man's happiness, well being, and even survival, especially when that dame is former royalty and also your cut throat employer. Women are fickle and dangerous creatures, beautiful to look at, but not wise to approach if you can avoid it. Keeping in their good graces was common sense that only the most simple minded of fools couldn't comprehend, fools and reckless men looking to live life on the edge. It was safe to say that he was neither of those things. But he was good at appeasing the woman in his life all the same, so much so that he had once been her dignitary. Those days were long over now, and yet his job hadn't changed all that much when it came to her. Keep her happy, save your own skin, do it in style. Which brought us to the next rule:

**#2: Never underestimate the power of a well tailored suit.**

Being a mercenary for hire is no excuse to not look your best, and nothing made a man look better or more powerful than a well fitted suit. It broadened the appearance of the shoulder, brought in the sides subtly to form the masculine V shape down to the waist, it carried you higher, made you look classy, elegant, powerful. A man who knew how to wear a suit was a man who had no visible weaknesses to show to an enemy. But it was more than just the suit of course, the right accessories could make or break the look you want the suit to give you. A good tie, a crisp hat, cuff links, spats, and proper footwear, all of these were important additions and partners to your formalwear. Oh yes, and a kerchief which was a touch of added flare, but also functional in case you ever had to get your hands dirty.

And speaking of getting dirty, it was important to always carry a few backup suits with you as well, in case work ever got… exceptionally messy. And simply buying a suit off the rack would never do, it was a sin, and one that should be punishable by death. Only custom made would do to fully accentuate and flatter the male figure. It had to be made to fit, the shoulders, the length of the sleeve, the cuffs, the chest, the intake at the waist with the gentlest of flares at the hips, pant legs, both outseam and inseam, it all had to be perfect, or it was a wasted effort.

A man in a well tailored suit would be a man that would be hard to forget. He oozes power, confidence, and raw animal magnetism all while maintaining the classy air of a gentleman. Hmm, perhaps that was all personal opinion, but he couldn't imagine anyone would disagree. Moving on to the next rule:

**#3: Never forget your own agenda**

It was a rule that was easy to forget. There was so much to do to please others just to survive, bitchy queens and mysterious, demonic overlords, his own blade happy associate, but a smart man knew how to keep his own ambitions and desires in their sights regardless of who they work for. A small cut just for himself to help him advance in the world and help him keep his sanity.

Droog considered himself to be a very smart man.

He hadn't been lying when he had told Slick that there was no one better at finding and organizing information. For all his complaining, Spades Slick had a natural talent for organization. But this matter in particular was one that held a very special interest for Droog. One that sparked a personal desire in his gut, so he didn't badger his shorter associate into researching Egbert's child and the mysterious, yet familiar, girl who had stolen him away from right under their noses. He had let Slick off the hook after only a few muttered complaints, stating that he didn't have the patience for his tantrums, and that he'd do the research himself. Slick had been much too eager to weasel his way out of extra work to be indignant about it, or even question why Droog had let him off the hook so easily, or at all. It was very unlike him. He usually couldn't be bothered by such trivial matters.

Of course researching Egbert's son and his mysterious friend was tricky when they had no previous files on them. After all, they had never been interested in the boy before, only his father. In fact, previous to the botched mission, Droog had had no idea that Egbert even had a child. That was sloppy on their part, completely unprofessional. Just because the Thief of Rage had been off their radar for years didn't excuse their pitiful excuse for Intel on his whereabouts and going ons.

It made him rather upset.

Of course, it was the very same lack of knowledge that gave the former Draconian Dignitary the idea on where to begin his research. If they had lacked this much knowledge about the Thief, what information could they be missing of his former comrades?

They didn't have much information on the former heroes, a vigilante group that called themselves 'Guardians.' They sought only to keep other worlders, like himself and many others, from making an eyesore of themselves to the public eye. This was all before the creation of the universal law that otherworlders keep themselves unknown to humans. They had all been dealt with years ago, but his hunch had proved fruitful anyways. That meddling girl was a dead ringer for the Knight of Space. Well wasn't that just the strangest coincidence?

**#4: There is no such thing as coincidence.**

A child of the Knight, and by that display a power, the girl had clearly inherited more than her mother's beauty. Did that mean the boy had inherited his father's aspect as well? If it did, it meant they'd have to be more careful when they approached him again. Rage was a dangerous aspect to simply take for granted. His associates had learned that the hard way.

This discovery also brought up many new questions, possibilities, and potential dangers. If the Thief and the Knight had progeny who was to say there weren't more second generation heroes? Just how many of them could there be? And would they have to be dealt with as well? Did they know of each other? The Knight's daughter coming to the rescue of the Thief's son would suggest that yes, they were aware of one another. And it wouldn't be too radical to assume that they were meant to follow in their parents' footsteps. Too bad chances were they'd meet the same end.

The Midnight Crew hadn't dealt the Guardians their final blows, that had been well before their involvement, but their demise had been a tale that was still murmured in hushed voices in many circles. Their final stand, their inevitable fall, and the sole survivor who had disappeared into the shadows. How long had it taken them to find him again? Much too long apparently.

"I'll have to let the others know," Droog sighed quietly to himself, picking up the files he had unearthed so far and adding them to the bulk of information the archives had on the Guardians.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" A soft, baritone voice husked close to his ear.

**#5: Never give the enemy a chance to get the drop on you.**

Less than a heartbeat. That's how long it took Diamonds Droog to draw out a slim blade tucked away in the cuff of his suit jacket, pivot on his foot, and press it against his intruder's throat. He could summon his gun out of his deck, but there simply wasn't enough time. Steely blue eyes locked with Droog's pale silver, crinkled at the corners in a smile. He could never forget those eyes, or who they belonged to, they were forever etched into his memory. He felt the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, a heated shiver running down his spine.

The irony of that statement hadn't escaped his notice either, that an intruder could slip past his guard while telling him how nothing gets past him was enough to make his blood boil with indignation. He was always like that, making joking, cutting remarks to get under your skin. But Droog was a man that knew when to keep his anger in check and when to utilize it. Right now his calm, steel resolve would do him much more good than acting in anger.

"Ah, it's you," he said with cool indifference, his eyes roaming over the other man's face, taking in every difference time and age had wrought on the man. "You look... older"

"Hello, old friend. Long time no see, you look like you haven't aged a single day. And yet you're still my elder," Jason Egbert replied just as calmly, smiling serenely, not an ounce of visible worry about the knife against this throat.

"Friends? Is that what we are?" the mercenary quirked a brow with mild curiosity. It was a carefully crafted game. Each note in his voice, each muscle tick of his facial expressions was deliberate. It had to be. Egbert was good at worming into any weakness he found.

"Aren't we friends? I always thought us so." the human looked almost hurt.

Droog snorted softly, "You have a strange definition for friendship."

Egbert chuckled, "You probably have me there. But I'm afraid this isn't just a social call." His expression sobered quickly, frown lines becoming visible.

"Oh, it isn't?" Droog pressed the blade of his knife a little harder on Jason's throat, human flesh was so soft, malleable, giving to the smallest bits of pressure. "Have you come by to make my job easier? Come to turn yourself in to avoid all this pointless chasing and hunting? How very noble of you."

"I had heard that the Midnight Crew had lowered themselves to becoming the lapdogs of a demon. So the rumors are true. You're doing His bidding now," the human accused.

Droog inwardly flinched, a flare of white hot rage, bursting up in the pit of his stomach, "If the money is good, who gives a damn who's giving it away?"

Egbert's eyes narrowed, cold steel now instead of blue gray, "You went after my son."

"Simply a means to an end. You were hiding like a coward, we needed to gain a certain incentive to make you come out," Droog shrugged his shoulders carelessly

"He's just an innocent boy. He has nothing to do with my history, or even yours," he could see the veins jumping in Jason's tightly fisted hands, the tension of each jumping muscle concealed by that perfectly fitted suit. Fuck him, but no one looked better in a suit than Jason Egbert.

"I'm not so sure about it," Droog's voice purred, knowing he was gaining the upper hand for once, "He is your son, after all. The child of the infamous Thief of Rage. What sort of potential do you think he has? I'm sure the Lord would like to find out for himself. Young talent is so hard to come by these days, and they're so easily modifiable to become anything you might want-!"

He had somehow expected that age would have slowed Jason down, but he was as lightening fast as always. A punch to the gut sent him reeling backwards, crashing hard against the wall. The knife had barely knicked the man's neck, and he paid no mind to the thin trail of blood that quickly stained the impeccably white collar of his crisp button down shirt.

The splotch of red caught Droog's attention, eyes dilating like a shark that just caught the scent of blood in the water. Still struggling to get his lungs to obey proper involuntary actions, he sat up, spitting a bit of blood to the side where he had bitten the inside of his cheek. His fingers twitched with the need to reach into his deck of cards and summon his machine gun or even just a pistol, but he fought that habit fast. Too much noise would attract attention far too fast, and where was the fun in that?

Egbert stalked forward, "You will leave the boy out of this." His voice was commanding, full of fire, sending shivers down Droog's spine.

"I'm afraid I can't do that anymore," was his breathy reply.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Jason said sadly, then charged forward again, arm cocked back, ready to strike the next blow.

Droog was ready for him this time, taking measured steps to meet him half way, side-stepping the blow and catching his arm with both of his hands, using the taller man's momentum to spin him around, throw him over his shoulder. Repaying the human in kind for his intimate rendezvous with the wall.

Egbert's shoulder slammed in hard, the man wincing, but he didn't have time to even register the pain before the mercenary was on him again. It was a dance. A well practiced dance that came with the fluidity of familiarity, even after years without practice. It was precise and deadly, beautiful to watch, and exhilarating to be in. Each move was precise, each counter perfectly timed. Jason had strength and agility on his side, Droog had his speed, his hidden arsenal of blades, and even his own sharp claws on his side. But then Egbert was the kind of man that could turn anything he got his hands on into a weapon. The first time they had met, the human had pied Droog in the face so severely he had broken his nose.

Age should have slowed him down. Age should have done a lot of things to Egbert that it hadn't. Instead of being ravaged by time, he had aged like a fine wine, his charisma and charm only increasing. It was enough to enrage anyone. This man! This... this human! The nerve of him! The gall! Thinking he could stand up to the likes of him! And not only that, but doing it with such style! Even now as they traded blow for blow, punch for slash, for slice, for throw, Egbert's suit was near immaculate. Not a crease on his shoulders, not a wrinkle on his chest or on his jacket, not even a single hair out of place! The only marring imperfection was that bright red stain that stood out like a beacon on the crisp, white shirt. How dare he! How DARE he!

Droog knew he was losing his cool, and that this would inevitably spell his doom. The Thief of Rage was aptly named for his ability to use his enemies' anger against them, to even take in the strength of their rage as his own, or maybe that part was simply rumor. All he knew was that he had never beaten Jason once when he had been mad.

It was proven fact once again as his back hit the wall so hard his head bounced off the unyielding barrier, his arms pinned to his sides in a strong, unbreakable grip. He'd have bruises there tomorrow, he was sure of it. His shoulder was bruised, as was his side, and the inside of his thigh, though that he had no idea how he managed to accomplish it. He could taste the coppery tang of his own blood on his tongue and he knew that a trickle of bright red was marking a line from the corner of his mouth down his jaw.

Jason was in no better shape, the bruising around his left eye promised that by tomorrow morning it very well could be swollen shut. He knew the man had to be sporting even more bruises under his barely rumpled clothes, but the piece de resistance were the scratches on his cheek, trickling blood down his neck to add new paint to the immaculately white canvas of his shirt. Those eyes like frozen steel glared such heat straight into his veins, he was surprised his organs hadn't cooked over yet. They breathed each other's ragged air, bodies pressed flush, much too hot from exertion, from anger, from rapidly beating heartbeats and adrenaline.

It was hard to tell who moved first, it didn't matter, the hard feel of Egbert's lips mashing against his own sent a whole new spike of heat and energy through him, electric, bringing the world in brighter clarity, narrowing it down to only the heat of the body against his own, the rough texture of his hands, the sound of of his own muffled gasps, and his scent, cologne, earthy pipe smoke, and him, all him, a natural musk that was more intoxicating than any drug or liquor.

With a snarl, Droog fought back for dominance. He wouldn't forgive himself if he gave in and submitted that easily. This was a man who had disappeared without a trace or a word seventeen years ago. A man who was always so infuriatingly well put together despite the mercenary's best efforts to make him come undone like Egbert did to him. The man that a small part of him had waited for, for too many years. The man who had the gall to show himself all these years later and call him friend. No. Sharp teeth bit down and drew out more of the human's blood, just a touch sweeter than his own. Instead of drawing away from the warning, Jason bit him back hard in kind, tugging his bottom lip savagely between his teeth. Human teeth were blunt things, but Egbert knew how to make them sting just right along his skin, fogging his thoughts around the edges once again.

Mouths moved, broke apart, gasping for breath, then fell on each other again like forces of nature colliding. Tongues warred and hands sought out anything warm enough to comfort them, any flesh giving enough to be used against each other, for each other, ripping away any obstacle keeping them from their goal.

Suit jackets were ripped away, buttons flying as shirts were impatiently opened. Egbert's chest was still toned, still chiseled and firm. Domestic life had done little to erode that away from him. His skin was pale, marked with old scars that spoke of a man who fought to keep his life for many years, and smooth, so hairlessly smooth. Droog's lips tugged up at a corner, so he stilled liked to shave away nearly all his hair. Such a strange man.

But he didn't have time to think on the human's strange habits. Jason always made it hard to think on anything but here and now, on him, his soft, warm, wet mouth, his rough, calloused hands. How they could be so gentle one moment, and then rough and demanding the next, pulling, kneading, carving an invisible imprint of himself permanently onto his skin.

Droog always considered himself a man with a tight reign over his emotions, his sense of self, but Jason somehow always managed to rip away the ties of his control, make his feel lost and insecure, out of control. And he loved it, he craved it, needed him to take control to make him wild, make him meek, make him docile, and needy, unpredictable, obedient, and animalistic. He needed it, needed him, and he could only ever admit it to himself at times like this.

Those sure lips drew away from his own, and he whimpered, far past the point of caring how needy he might sound.

"Droog," warm breath against his jaw, soft lips tracing the pulse of his throat and he fucking mewled like a kitten for him. He held on tight as the world spun, claws digging deep into pliably soft flesh.

Jason grunted, the sting of pain reminding him that Droog wasn't delicate, didn't need him to hold back, probably didn't want him to, either. He smiled, a lazy, predatory smile and suddenly bit down over that racing pulse line, sucking hard, doing what he had to to leave his mark on the impossibly dark flesh. He loved the way he crooned his name, lyrical almost, and dripping with lust.

He lived for moments like this, where he could make Diamonds Droog fall apart under his hands. It was such a feeling of power and control. But he loved what came afterwards more, when the other man would remember himself and fight again.

A shove, a pull, bites, rough hands, claws, teeth, pushing, pulling, fighting to remain in control, fighting to regain it. They ended up with with Droog pinned against the side of table, breathing rampant, mingling with the human's. Jason's rough hands grabbed hold of his narrow hips, lifted him up enough to sit the table's flat surface, pinning him in place with his own body, pressed flush together.

He could feel Jason's arousal, hot and pulsing, rubbing against his own, softly at first, and then harder, drawing out a desperate keen in a voice he couldn't recognize as his own. It drew a breathless groan from the man, low, but just as desperate. Their eyes caught, blue gray on pale silver, bright and lust drunk. Their lips met next, biting, suckling, swallowing each other's moans as shaking hands desperately tried to remove what little clothes remained in their way.

Wet, hot skin and the scent of sweat and musk, and sex. Rough hands rubbing, kneading, touching him in ways that no one else could imitate. They stroked him, milked him, smearing him with his own need. They burrowed slowly inside him, teaching him to learn to accept him once again. It had been so long, and he could still feel the ghost of his heat inside him even now, needed it once again just to feel like he could breathe. And he knew that Egbert understood. He always understood Droog's needs better than he did.

"Gods, I hate you," Droog murmured against Egbert's lips, even as his body quivered empty, needy, feeling his heat just out of his reach, so close, not close enough.

"I know," Jason whispered back and Droog could almost imagine he heard a trace of remorse in his voice.

And then he couldn't imagine anything, could think of anything, only feel as burning spread him wide, filled him all at once, and it hurt, but he craved it, held onto it tight, grit his teeth as it delved in deep, carved it's way back in after so long.

It wasn't slow, it wasn't gentle, it was desperate, hard, painful, perfect. It was two bodies fighting, taking what they needed from each other, giving each other wholly and not at all. The quiet space filled with their ragged gasps, the wet, slick, obscenely loud sounds of their bodies moving together, the table creaking, scraping with each powerful movement, of their voices murmuring each others names over and over again, of quickly increasing moans. A shift, a roll, a deep, slow grind and Droog was crying out the other's name, wordlessly begging for more

And he got it, everything he asked for and more. Until he peaked, filled and emptied at the same time.

It lasted what felt like hours. It ended much too soon.

Remembering how to breathe shouldn't be this hard, or even how to see. Remembering how to move was harder still, but Droog felt much to soft and content, pained and over exerted to care. Jason took care of him, he was always like that. He laid him out gently on the table, careful hands cleaning him, clothing him, and then himself, all with an amused smile.

"I've missed you," Jason murmured softly against his damp hair, disheveled as he finished adjusting Droog's tie.

"I'm not sure I can say the same," Droog whispered back between soft, nearly soundless gasps

"Always so cruel to me," Jason sighed wistfully, though that smile never ran away from his lips.

"He has the nerve to call ME cruel," Droog mumbled to himself and Egbert huffed a small laugh.

"Is there nothing I can do to change your mind? You're on the wrong side of this fight and you know it," Jason said after a short pause.

Droog simply quirked a brow at him

Jason knew the other man well enough to take his answer from that, "And you have no qualms of being on his side? You know what he's done. You know what he plans to do."

"None of that matters to me," said Droog as he carefully tried to sit himself up, doing his best to ignore the aches that were still more pleasant than painful.

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that," Jason's tone was hurt.

"It's been a long time, Egbert, but you should still know me. I am, and have always been, on the side with the deepest pockets. It's nothing personal, 'old friend.' Simply business," Droog said with a cold air of indifference. His barriers were quick to fall back into place.

"What if I paid you to be on my side, then?" Egbert asked, gripping the smaller man's chin so that he could meet his gaze.

Droog huffed a soft sound like a laugh, "As if you could ever afford me."

"You're probably right," Jason smiled sadly. "Then I'm afraid this is where we go our seperate ways."

"Our separate ways?" Droog asked with an air of pseudo curiosity. "What makes you think that I'll simply let you leave now?"

Egbert smiled, his hand sliding along Droog's jaw, tracing the shell of his ear with long fingers, cupping the back of his head, "Because it's less fun that way, don't you think?" He didn't wait for an answer. He yanked Droog towards him for another kiss, slow, but heated.

Droog couldn't help himself, he felt his body melt against this man's again. Warmth spread throughout his body, slowly heating to a low simmer as tongues met, dueled, tasted, suckled, dominated. Sweetness burst in his mouth and then it was over, leaving him panting softly for breath. His body felt warm, heavy, sluggish, like he his muscles had melted away. What this man could do to him.

No.

No, wait...

It wasn't that his body felt like it had melted away, it was that he had lost sensation all over his body... paralysis. His eyes widened in shock, staring at the sadly smiling human staring down at him. His mouth moved, but only little choked out sounds escaped him.

"Forgive me," Jason said, his voice infinitely sad. He carefully eased Droog to lay on the table once again. "You didn't leave me with much other choice."

Droog could only stare at him, eyes narrowing dangerously as impotent rage bubbled up inside him. Idiot! How could he have let down his defenses like that? He hadn't even noticed when Jason had time to slip him the drug. Egbert made him sloppy, it had always been that way, and it was why he hated him so much. Why he could never forget him.

"The drug's affects last about an hour to the average human. I'd give you a good fifteen minutes, though, so I'm afraid I can't stay any longer. It's nothing personal, friend... I'm just trying to protect those I hold dear. I hope you can understand that one day and forgive me." Jason placed a final tender kiss to the corner of Droog's mouth, and then he was gone.

Fifteen minutes seem to crawl past in hours. Feeling and mobility came back to him slowly and when he could finally get up and move he threw the closest chair against he wall in a fit of rage. It was only after that Droog even noticed that his files on the former Guardians were gone along with the human.

Jason Egbert had bested him once again.

Droog took a deep breath, then another, trying to keep a tight control on his building anger.

It didn't work. A second chair met it's end smashed against the wall, and a single, harshly whispered word fell from the Diamonds Droog's mouth, "Egbert."

* * *

And then suddenly Dad/Droog banging! I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I did the best I could! I'm so sorry. OTL


	8. Magical Ocean Adventure

Dirk packs up the kiddies and goes on a trip, picking up a few friends a long the way

* * *

"Oh wow! Dave, do you see that?" John breathed out in awe, "Oh! And look at that!" He went on, not waiting for an actual response from his friend. He felt like a kid at a toy store looking at all the high tech gadgets behind protective glass, all of it just waiting for him to pick. But he wasn't. He was on a shuttle van, driving through New York, going to... some pier, he couldn't remember it's name, but he had to assume there were a lot in a place like this.

He had been a bubbling fountain of energy the entire day and the three hour flight from Houston to New York had done nothing to damper his gung-ho attitude. Nor had the wait over in the shuttle station done a thing to slow down his cheer. Dirk had managed to snag them their own shuttle. John had taken a moment from his excited fidgeting to call him a rich priss. Dirk told him he could fucking walk if he was going to be an ungrateful little shit, and with Jade's help (force), John had apologized.

The moment their shuttle had taken off, John's inner child had made a strong comeback. He had the entirety of the backseat to himself so he could slide from one end to the other to gawk at whatever new sight caught his eye, like he'd never seen a city before. It had been cute to see at first, Dave mused to himself, but he had long since tired of telling John to calm down. It was nice enough to just watch his bright smile without trying to rein it in.

Though apparently not everyone agreed with him on the sentiment.

"Dave, can you leash in your overexcited puppy before he piddles on someone's shoes and gets us kicked off the shuttle?" Dirk said dryly, earning himself a glare from said excited puppy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Grandpa, did you miss your nap? Looking a little cranky there," John stuck his tongue out at him childishly.

The older blond quirked a brow, leaning over the gap in the middle seat to regard the little submissive. Whatever Dirk had been about to say in return, he was cut off by Jade, "We're all a little tired, we've been up since the crack if dawn."

"I'm not tired," the dark haired boy said with a light shrug.

"Not all of us got the luxury to be able to sleep for two days," Dirk murmured snidely.

John visibly bristled, a frustrated noise like a growl rumbling in his throat, "You know what-?" he started, but was cut off.

"Bro..." Dave started in warning.

The tension in the nearly empty van suddenly seemed stifling

"We're here!" Jade quickly exclaimed, pointing to the quickly widening view of the ocean, and more importantly, the pier they were heading towards.

John forgot about Dirk instantly, pressing his face against the glass like an eager child, gripping onto the seat in front of him tight. "Oh boy! Hey... where are we going, anyways?" He asked, glancing at Jade over his shoulder.

"Oh, we didn't tell you? We're going to my house!" the girl exclaimed happily.

"Your house?" John sat back in his chair, eyebrow quirked curiously.

"Mm-hmm!" Jade smiled.

"But you said you lived on an island...?" John's brows furrowed lightly.

"Manhattan is an island," Dirk supplied (un)helpfully.

"Dirk, shoosh!" Jade chastised the older man, rolling her eyes, "Don't listen to him, John. Dirk chartered a cruiser to take us all to my island. It's pretty far off, it'll take us a few days to get there."

John swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a bit ill, "We're going to be days out in the ocean?"

"That a problem?" Dave asked, peering over the shoulder of his seat.

John felt his stomach bottom out, "Umm... well... when I was young, my dad and I took a trip, and... well there was this boat ride, see? And I really wanted to go!" He dropped off there, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Fascinating," Dirk snorted softly, "Anything else you want to add to that charming childhood anecdote?"

"Shoosh, you!" Jade scolded again, "None of your sass right now. What about the boat ride, John?" she added helpfully.

"Well..." John sighed softly, "I spent the entire time seasick," he admitted at last, chagrinned. "It was awful; I've never wanted to get back on a boat since."

"Oh no," Jade said sympathetically.

"Well shit," Dave breathed.

"You're telling us this now? You had to have at least guessed that we were getting on a boat when I said we were heading to the pier," Dirk remarked.

"Oh my god, is this really the right time to be an asshole?!" John exclaimed angrily.

"Anytime is a good time to be an asshole when it's called for, really," Dirk shrugged, "But that's not what this is about."

"Coulda fooled me," John muttered.

"A seagull could fool you," Dirk remarked acidly.

"Well you got me there, because your stupid seagull hair has been confusing me from the moment I first laid eyes on it!" John parried.

"That's rich coming from the boy going around wearing his pajamas," Dirk snorted softly.

John could feel his cheeks burning with a bit of a blush that he quickly tried to will away. No good letting the driver see his face turn blue, "It's not my fault I couldn't get a change of clothes because you and Dave are assless!"

"Hey man, not cool," Dave said

"Sorry bro, casualty of war," John smiled sheepishly.

"I think the real problem here isn't my, or Dave's, fantastically firm ass, it's the fact that someone here, i.e. you, need to buy their clothes in the little girl's department"

"Y-you-!" John tried and failed to find the right words to shoot back at him, definitely feeling a blush creeping up his neck.

"IS there no other way?" Jade cut in before things got worse than they already were.

Dirk sighed, rolling his eyes, and waving his hand dismissively, "I guess we could always fly over the island and parachute in."

"No," Dave said quickly at the same time that John said "Yeah, let's do that!"

The two boys looked at each other, speaking as one again, "What? Why?" John felt himself fluster, and Dave looked just as bad. They stayed staring at each other for a few moments, then looked away at the same time, Dave to an interesting spot on the floor, John out the window to their approaching stop.

Jade looked back and forth between the two of them. She mentally laughed. Boys. Anyways, "I don't think that's a really good idea, there's no clearing wide enough on the island to be a safe drop off point besides the beach, and then who knows if the wind wouldn't make us all land in the ocean or something."

"Yeah, it wasn't a serious suggestion," Dirk shrugged, "Besides, I've got the boat, and the rest of the party is waiting for us."

"The rest of... who?" John looked back at them, suddenly interested again.

"No way!" Jade suddenly squealed.

"For real?" Dave looked in higher spirits as well.

"Yeah, they should be waiting for us there already," Dirk smirked lightly.

"Who?" John asked again just as the driver announced their arrival.

"Let's go," Dirk said, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He paid the driver, telling him to keep the tip, and then he was out, stretching his legs.

Dave followed suit and Jade bounced out ahead of them.

"You guys," John whined, following behind them, "Don't do this to me again! This isn't funny! Who are we meeting?"

"That'd ruin the surprise," Dave said smugly.

"A surprise? Then... It's someone that I know!" John's eyes brightened as his mind started racing with answers.

"It might be," Dave cryptically replied, trying his best to fight a smile that stubbornly wanted to tug his lips upwards at the corners.

"I get three guesses!" John bounced in his step, circling his friends.

"Aww, don't try and guess! It's a surprise!" Jade pouted.

"But everyone knows half the fun of the surprise is guessing what it could be."

"What could what be?" A soft, lilting voice asked from just in front of them.

John's eyes widened, mouth opening in shocked excitement. He knew that voice from video chats, "ROSE!"

And there she was, standing in her full, high heel enhanced glory, "I was starting to suspect that we'd been ditched," she said with a smile.

"ROSE!" John cheered again and charged headfirst into the petite blonde, picking her up and twirling her around before hugging her to his chest.

Rose could only laugh, "Hello to you, too John! It's nice to finally meet in person."

"I know... I KNOW! I..." John suddenly looked back at the others, eyes widening, "I'm with you guys in person...!" he breathed out in awe.

"That's only occurring to you now?!" Jade said with a laugh of her own, and then launched herself onto the hugging duo, initiating a group hug. "Hi Rose!"

"Hello, Jade. It's good to see you, too," Rose tried to reach around John to at least pat the girl on the arm, but the submissive just held on tight.

Behind them someone cleared their throat, three pairs of eyes turning to the pair of blond boys in shades.

"Hello David, Derek," Rose nodded her held politely from within the confines of her brunette force field.

"Sup, Dave nodded his head.

"It's Dirk," Dirk said, looking around, "Where's Ro-Lal?"

"Dave! Get in the on the hugging action while the action is good!" John cheered, trying to reach an arm towards the blonde.

"My dear sister has already boarded, taking this opportunity to find a few good hiding places before you inevitably confiscate all her alcohol and dump their contents into the ocean."

"No thanks man, I'm good."

"Aww, Dave!" Jade puppy dog pouted.

"Cool," Dirk nodded, "I'll let her have a head start. It'll be like a game."

"Those eyes don't work on my anymore, Harley. Nice try," Dave said with a single shoulder shirk.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that, thank you, Dirk," Rose said with a nod of her head.

"You're a big spoilsport, Dave!" Jade stated accusingly.

"I second the motion!" John chirped in.

"Dave Strider's spoilsportness has been brought to the attention of the court by one Jade Harely," Rose suddenly said solemnly, all the attention focusing on the boy in the aviators.

"Oh my god, Rose. Don't..." Dave already knew it was futile.

"A motion that has been seconded by a Mr. John Egbert," Rose went on, ignoring Dave's whines to stop, her expression completely no nonsense, even within the confines of a Harley/Egbert super hug.

"Yep," John nodded solemnly.

"It will now be put up to a vote."

"Oh my Christ," Dave muttered.

"All those in who are for the agreement of Dave's spoilsportness, say aye."

"Aye!" Jade laughed.

"Aye," John nodded.

"Aye," Dirk joined in with a hint of amusement.

"The ayes have it," Rose announced. "Dave Strider you have officially been found guilty of being a spoilsport. What do you have to say in your defense?"

"I just want you to know that I hate you all. This isn't even remotely close to how the court system works" Dave muttered and pushed past the group towards the piers.

"Quick! He's getting away!" John pointed to the retreating blonde.

"Oh no! He has to face his sentence!" said Jade.

"Quick, after him. He'll be brought to justice yet," Rose said smoothly motioning for the two brunettes to go on the attack. A smile played on her dark lips, though she was careful to keep any teeth from showing.

"ATTACK!" John whooped as he untangled his arms from the petite blond girl and charged at the blond boy full steam.

"RAWR!" Jade howled excitedly right behind him

Dave had just enough time to glance over his shoulder before they were on him, "HOLY CHRIST!" and then they were upon him, grabbing hold of his arms securely.

"We got the prisoner, Judge Rose," John said dutifully.

"We won't let him squirm his way out of this way," Jade nodded in agreement.

"What the actual fuck, you guys?!" Dave tried to pull his arms free, first one, then the other, but was held on tight by the two brunettes.

"Well done officers. Now shall we make this quick and painless, Mr. Strider?" Rose asked as she closed the distance between them, hips swaying lightly with each step.

"Rose... Rose, what are you scheming in that devious brain of yours? Lalonde, I'm warning you," Dave squirmed in place, held tight, trying to pull himself back as far as possible as the distance between them grew smaller and smaller.

Rose stopped inches away from Dave's person, simply staring at his tense shoulders, and at the barely visible widening of his eyes behind his aviators. She leaned in the fast few inches and placed a chaste little kiss on his lips, a laugh bubbling up inside at the scandalized look on Dave's face.

"It's good to see you, David," she hummed softly, then stepped around the three to head towards the boat. She caught a second's glance at John's wide, shocked eyes, and smiled devilishly as she went on ahead.

"Whoa..." John breathed out as he let go of Dave's arm, "You and Rose...?"

"Of course not!" Dave denied much too quickly.

"You don't have to lie, Dave. I mean, we've all been talking for years, it's not that strange, right?" John smiled softly.

"John, I know what you're thinking, but you got it wrong. So, so, so wrong. So far wrong it's not even remotely near the continent of funny." Dave tried his best to explain.

"What? There's nothing wrong with Rose, Dave!" John pouted.

"I didn't say that!" Dave defended.

"Well then, why wouldn't you want to date her?"

"What? I don't... how is that even... how did we even get here?!"

"Boys," Jade sighed with a roll of her eyes and skipped off after Rose.

"Idiots," Dirk nodded his agreement, following behind her at a more sedate pace.

* * *

"I'm just saying: You don't meet a girl as great as Rose very often. She's really great! You don't have to act like a shy elementary school kid if you like her," John continued the argument as they boarded the boat.

"Egbert, if you think she's so amazing, why don't you date her?" Dave groused, his last nerve wearing thin on the subject.

"Well, I... I mean..." John flustered, "I think it's pretty obvious that she likes you," he said quietly, a bit sadly.

Dave just stared for a moment, expression deadpan, then he threw his arms up in the air, "Okay. I'm out. I am fucking done with this conversation."

"No! Wait, Dave! I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" What John didn't mean was interrupted by a high pitched squeal.

"Oh. Em. GEE! Is this him? This is gotta be him Oh my gawd! He's such a little cutie! C'mere, you little sweetie pie, let momma get a good look at you!"

John was suddenly swept up in pink fingernails and the wafting scent of cotton candy perfume and vodka. Wide blue eyes fixed on a set of pink, and the boy floundered around for words to say, "I... uh... I... I... whu..."

Roxy squealed again, "Holy crap, Dirky! He is the cutest thing ever! And you had him all to yourself! I call no fair!"

"Roxy, you're scaring the boy, why don't you give him his personal space back?" Dirk tried hard not to laugh.

"Nuh! He's so cute and huggable and I just wanna eat him up," Roxy cooed, hugging John close, his face buried in her cleavage.

"H-help...?" John squeaked.

Dirk did laugh at that, just a little, but that was plenty enough. The others could only stare in shocked awe as Rose's sister tried to suffocate John in her bosom.

"Oh, and he smells so good, too! I didn't think he'd smell this good," Roxy purred.

"W-wha...?" John wheezed

"Roxy," Rose said softly, warningly, "put the boy down."

"Aww, alright, alright. I'll let the little guy breathe," Roxy loosened her hold on the poor boy, though she cupped his cheeks between her hands and forced him to look up the half inch of height her heels gave her over him. Without warning she pressed her lips to his, making an obscenely loud humming sound.

It wasn't at all like the little peck Rose had shared with Dave, it was forceful, demanding, knee weakening, and it was impossible to look away from.

"Mmmnnn-mmmmm-MMMM-mmmmm-MMMMWAH!" She finally let him go, smiling at the sight of her pink lipstick smeared all over John's mouth. "Name's Roxy, lil cutie. You remember that, kay?" She sauntered away a wink.

John stumbled back half a step, then slipped down to his knees, staring up at Roxy in a daze.

The girl laughed, "Oh my god! CUTE!"

"Fucking chirst, Egbert, pull yourself together," Dave muttered, helping the boy back up to his feet.

"I... uh... whu...?" John tried to restart the coherent part of his mind, glancing over at his best friend. He looked... angry, his hair was looking all fluffed out like an angry cat again. "Dave...?"

"Can't believe she kissed you," he was muttering, "and you, you just fucking swoon over with a major case of the vapors, what the actual fuck?"

John's brows furrowed, "Wait... it's Roxy you like, right? That's why you can't return Rose's feelings."

"OH EM EFF GEE!" Roxy gasped dramatically, "I love triangle?! Between me and Rose? Davey, how could you?!"

Rose bit back a giggle of her own from where she was seated at the side of the cabin, "You cad. I thought what we had was special."

"Oh that's it. I'm so out. Fuck y'all," Dave's voice twanged at the end, bristling at the sound of it. "Here, take this," He handed John over to Jade then stormed inside the boat's cabin.

"Dave, wait! I didn't mean..." but John didn't know what to say, he didn't know what had upset his friend so badly.

"Oh dear," Rose sighed, getting gracefully up from her seat, "Don't worry about it, John. I'll see to him." She offered a soft smile, following the blonde boy inside.

"Welp. That's a perfect start to our trip if I ever saw one," Dirk suddenly announced, "And speaking about our trip, it's about time we shove off. First mate Harley?"

"Y-yes?" Jade asked, startled, then seemed to catch on to her character, "I... I mean: Aye, Captain?"

"Cut line from the pier and set sail. We're off to Hell Murder Island," Dirk commanded.

"I'm sorry, to where?" John asked incredulously.

"Aye aye, Cap'n!" Jade said at the same time, saluting with her free hand and swallowing down a silly giggle. She looked around to make sure there were no stray eyes wandering in their direction, then with a few subtle moves of her hand, green energy untied the boat from its dock, started the engines up and raised the sails.

"Jade, have I ever told you how awesome your powers are?" John breathed out in awe.

Jade grinned, "They can come in pretty hand sometimes, yeah."

"Yeah, I'll bet," John said almost reverently. "Now... what's this about Hell Murder Island...?"

* * *

Three hours later John officially hated this trip more than anything he had ever hated ever in the entirety of his seventeen year old life.

Ever.

He had thrown up twice already, and he was sure the only reason he hadn't kept spewing his guts out was because his stomach was officially empty of anything it could upchuck. That would explain the bout of dry heaving he had just finished as he tottered his way back up to the deck.

"Here," Rose was at the ready, offering John a bottle of something that seemed fizzy, "Drink it in small sips.

He swallowed hard at the sight of it, not sure if he'd be able to take anything into his stomach right now.

Rose nodded in understanding, but pressed the cool bottle into his hand anyways, "It's ginger ale. It should help with the sea sickness. And so should getting you away from the edges of the boat. You need to focus on something other than the ocean waves. Look at the horizon. Or... or we can talk about anything to take your mind off your queasiness."

John popped open the bottle open, taking a small sip, and then another, "Like what?"

Rose guided him back below deck, sitting John down on one of the chairs in the kitchenette, sitting down across from him, "Anything that you want to talk about. Anything at all."

"Well, we haven't had time for a lot of Q & A with John about what he can expect now that he's Changed," Jade piped in as she ducked inside, sitting herself down next to John.

"Oh that's right! And I wanted to know a few other things, too," John nodded, taking a few more small sips.

"Then we are your well of information. Feel free to ask us anything you can think of."

"Alright," John nodded, then hummed thoughtfully, "Okay, first's things first. Jade, you guys mentioned that my house was on the news."

Jade suddenly looked sheepish, "You heard that, huh?"

John nodded, "Yep. So... why was my house on the news?"

"Now John... don't freak out, okay?" Jade warned.

"I'm not gonna freak out!" John huffed.

"John, relax, you're getting worked up already," Rose patted John's hand lightly from across the table.

"I'm relaxed! I swear! Can one of you tell me why my house was on the news?!"

"Whoever tried to snatch you burned your house down when they failed in their mission. Seemed petty to me, but it could be that they were trying to send a message out to someone" came the answer in the form of Dirk who had decided to join them in the kitchenette, followed close behind by Roxy, not wanting to be left behind.

"Where's Dave?" Rose asked.

"My house was what?!" John yelped.

"John, breathe!" Jade patted the boy's cheek soothingly. "No one was hurt."

"Dave's steering the ship, little fucker wants to keep busy while he's avoiding everyone," Dirk motioned for Rose to scoot over so he can take his own seat across from John, seemingly careless to the fact that the boy was starting down the path to another freak out.

"But... my house!"

"Hey," Dirk snapped his fingers in John's face, getting the younger boy's attention, "Harely said no one was hurt in the fire. You could never go back there anyways. Not until we figure out who wants you and why."

John blinked a few times, focusing on Dirk instead. It seemed to help, oddly enough. He took a few shuddering breaths, then a few more sips of ginger ale, "W-what if my dad thinks I'm dead? I... he's not answering any of my calls, oh god, what if they got my dad?"

"John, your dad was already out of town when they broke into your house. You can't let yourself think like that or you'll worry yourself into a panic attack," Rose patted his hand again. "Your father is fine. And he knows that wherever you are, you have to be fine, too. We'll make it through all this and we'll find him, okay?"

"O... okay..." John nodded after a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

Jade sighed in relief, glad they weren't going to suddenly be hit by a real and actual hurricane out at sea.

"Oi, Harlish girl... Engley? Jade," Roxy suddenly spoke up.

"Um... yes?" Jade asked, head tilting to the side.

John seemed to barely realize Roxy was there with them, because he suddenly turned bright blue and looked away quickly.

Roxy tossed a quick smile in John's direction then turned her attention back to Jade, "I got your big bro here worried sick that he hasn't heard from you in days. Figured you should give him the deets yourself," she held out a tablet.

"Oh my gosh! Jake! I haven't spoken to him in over a day! He must be worried sick," Jade said in a flurry, taking the tablet and signing off of Roxy's Pesterchum to sign in on her own.

"You get signal out here?" John asked, glancing back over shyly.

"I get signal everywhere I go," Roxy grinned, winking at the boy again, "Got my own hot spot. I can show it to you later if you want, baby doll."

John flustered, looking away again, "U-uh, ummm I...!"

"Roxy..." Dirk's tone was all warning, voice low and rumbling.

Wow, Dirk sounded a lot like Dave when he did the name warning thing, John mused to himself.

- gardenGnostic [ GG ] began pestering golgothasTerror [ GT ] at 17:43 -

GG: jake!  
GT: Land sakes alive! There you are, jade.  
GT: Ive been worrying myself rotten over you.  
GG: im sorry! :(  
GG: things have been a little hectic on this end.  
GG: havent had much chance to get online!

"Calm down, Di-Stri, m'just teasin him a lil," Roxy patted the blond man's shoulder.

GG: john hasnt been taking his change as well as we could hope.  
GG: but he seems to be doing better now at least!

"Sounds more like you're inviting a minor to unsolicited acts," Dirk remarked, brow quirked.

John squeaked his face going bright blue all over again.

"You know, that hasn't stopped being fascinating to watch," Rose hummed softly.

GT: Well thank goodness for that.  
GT: Any chance that youll be coming home soon?  
GG: well, that depends on your definition of 'soon'...  
GT: I would hope tonight at the latest.  
GG: :I  
GG: so i guess what i mean to say is no

"Well if he's up for it, I wouldn't mind a little luvvin," Roxy grinned wide, "'Sides, he's seventeen, that's old enough ta consent, right Johnny?"

"Oh my god," John did his best to disappear under the table, blue to the tips of his ears.

"Oh my gawd, he is so cute!" Roxy squealed, the only thing keeping her from reaching over and hugging the boy to her again was the fact that Jade was between them.

GT: Why in blue blazes not?  
GT: Surely strider and his brother can handle the boy from here on out!  
GG: nooooo!  
GG: no way in hell can they handle john  
GG: they wouldnt even know where the handle was theyre so bad at handling john!  
GG: all they do is fight with each other over him!

Rose cleared her throat, turning the attention back to her. "Yes, well. Moving on from that particular subject... Is there any other questions you have, John?"

"Um..." John sat up straighter again, remembering his ginger ale and taking a small sip, clearing his own throat.

GT: Theyre doing what?!  
GT: Dirk is too?!  
GG: oh my god!  
GG: not like that! X(!  
GG: dont get jealous over nothing!  
GG: Dirk has been picking on john a lot  
GG: and im pretty sure hes just doing it to piss dave off. :/  
GT: ...

"Well, I guess I'm just more curious about our troll thing?" John's mouth tilted to one side in a frown.

"Out Alternian heritage," Rose corrected.

"Right, that," John nodded absently. "I mean... Our blood is blue now and... other stuff," he squirmed uncomfortably, the closest he had gotten to the subject of his anatomical changes.

GG: jake, calm down!  
GG: if you wanna know what i think its that Dirk has been hard on john to try to keep him level and to give him something else to focus on other than what a pile of crap his life is right now  
GT: You think so?  
GG: yeah!  
GG: completely! :)  
GG: you know dirk better than anyone!  
GG: you know he has his own convoluted ways of doing things  
GT: Heh, yeah. Youre right about that.

Rose quirked an eyebrow, as did Dirk, "John, only your blood is blue."

"W-wha?" John's eyes widened in shock. "B-but I... I mean...! I-it isn't because..." He couldn't bring himself to say it. He couldn't!

"Because you're submissive?" Dirk finished for him.

John flinched hard, ducking his head, eyes closed tight.

"You're going to have to-" Dirk started, then was cut off by Rose.

"It has nothing to do with... that," she tried to say as delicately as she could.

"Yeah, we all just got different blood colors," Roxy finished explaining.

GG: the problem is that between dirk poking at john to get to dave  
GG: and dave treating john like he might fall apart if he so much as touches him  
GG: john needs someone who will hold his hand when he needs it and treat him like nothing has changed when he doesnt  
GT: And that someone is you.  
GG: and that someone is me!  
GT: Thats my girl.  
GT: You show those stubborn striders what for!  
GT: Show em what being a good care taker is really all about.  
GG: ill make you proud big brother! :D  
GG: it helps that rose is here now, too!  
GG: though roxy is making things a whole new level of complicated, too. :T  
GT: Roxy and rose are there?

"Wait, what?" John asked, suddenly confused all over again.

Rose sighed, "They didn't even explain that much to you?"

"Yeah, Dirky! Way to drop the ball on that one. No wonder poor John is all confused!"

"I was a little preoccupied trying to keep my home in one piece against John the tornado, ex-fucking-cuse me for not suitably giving the twerp his troll lessons-"

"Alternian," Rose corrected.

"Between his hissy fits and extended naps," Dirk finished like Rose hadn't said a word.

"Well why don't you guys tell me now, since clearly Dirk is too inept to," John huffed.

Dirk opened his mouth to speak again, but Roxy shoved his face away, "it's pretty simple stuff. See my eyes?" She batted them coquettishly.

GG: yeah!  
GG: we just met up with them today!  
GT: So youre all having a humdinger of a soirée without me, is that it?  
GT: Well isn't that just a a dandy fucking fine situation  
GG: awww jake! :(  
GG: dont be like that!  
GG: youll see all of us in a few days!  
GT: Will i?

John flushed lightly and nodded, causing Roxy to giggle, shoving Dirk away again when it looked like he was going to butt in. "Well, ya see. The color of these pretty gems is also my blood color. Jus' like your baby blues are the same color as your blood."

John blinked said baby blues a few times, "Oh wow, I thought you were wearing contacts. So then... Your blood is pink."

"Mmhmm," Roxy hummed with a smile.

"Rose's blood is... purple," John said, getting a good look at the younger Lalonde's eyes.

GG: of course!  
GG: were sailing towards the island as we speak  
GT: Oh, oh is that right?  
GT: So what youre telling me is that not only are you all having a ball without me.  
GT: But that youre also having a high flying adventure out at sea without me!  
GG: ummm... i guess thats one way to put it.  
GG: a really wrong and jealous way to put it. :(  
GG: no one did it to exclude you jake  
GG: were trying to get everyone together  
GG: so were all going to you  
GT: No.  
GT: Simply no.  
GT: Fuck that.  
GT: Fuck all of that.

- golgothasTerror [ GT ] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [ GG ] at 18:20 -

GG: jake?  
GG: :(

"That's right," Rose nodded as well.

"And Jade has green blood," John went on, glancing at Jade beside him.

"Huh? What?" Jade focused her attention back on her friends.

"It's lime green, to be exact," Rose clarified.

"Oh, right. My blood color," the brunette girl smiled sheepishly, "Yep, it's the same color as my eyes."

"Everything okay, Jade?" John asked, noting the furrow in the girl's brow.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," Jade tried to reassure, putting the tablet down.

"Um... Okay," John didn't want to push, since Jade had been nice enough not to push him when he didn't want to talk about... certain things. "So then, what color is your blood Mr. Always wearing anime shades?"

Dirk quirked a brow, "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"I bet they're pink, like Roxy's," John mused, "Maybe even a girlier shade than Roxy's! Like a baby pink or something. I bet they go real well with your light blond hair."

"Oh mah gaw!" Roxy laughed, "Can you imagine? Especially with your long and delicate eye lashes, Dirky! We should get you some contacts!"

"Nah, I'm good," Dirk replied calmly.

"His eyes are actually," Jade started to speak, then helped as she was suddenly pelted with a kernel of cereal, glaring accusingly at Dirk, "Rude!"

The blond man simply quirked an eyebrow in answer.

Rose politely covered her mouth behind her hand to hide a smile, "If you're simply too embarrassed to show John, you can just say so. We'd completely understand. I mean, there must be a reason you never let anyone see you without your trusted eyewear."

"Yeah, it's okay, Dirk. No one will call you a chicken shit or anything just because you don't want to show us your eyes," John smiled sweetly. "I mean, it's not like Rose and Roxy hide their eye color just because they're colors you normally wouldn't find on a normal person. Not that I'm saying Rose and Roxy are braver than you for not hiding their eye color. Nothing like that. Just... Just know that we're not all thinking what a scaredy cat you are for hiding behind your shades all that time, that's all."

"Ooh," Roxy mock gasped, covering her own mouth with her hand. Jade had to bite her lip to keep from grinning.

Dirk's expression remained stoically neutral, though his eyebrow ticked, the only indicator of his annoyance. Without a word he gripped the temple of his glasses, and lifted them up, resting the pointed shades on top of his head.

Long, pale lashes, that's the first thing John noticed, pale gold on barely tanned skin. Then they fluttered open revealing eyes like blazing fires, intense, and scorching. They stared directly at him, promising to burn him alive and make him enjoy every minute of it.

Somewhere far away, someone cleared their throat. It was just enough to catch John's attention. Like a spell being broken, he shook his head lightly and the rest of the world returned. Roxy was biting her lip on a huge grin, and Jade was trying so hard not to giggle. Rose, for her part, rested her chin on her hands, one folded daintily over the other, her expression entirely too smug. It occurred to John that the throat clearing had come from one of them close by, not miles away like he heard it. He felt his ears burning. Oh god, he had been staring! How long had he been staring?! And was he blushing before this or just now when he realized he had been staring?!

A quick glance back at Dirk, the blond man already shielded his eyes behind his triangular shades once again, but his lips were ticked up in a barely there smile.

John flustered, stumbling over his words, "S-so, that... th-that is... uh... Your eyes are orange."

"How very astute of you," Dirk's very tone implied that he was rolling those orange eyes at John right now.

"So then... your blood is orange?" John finished lamely.

"That would be the theory, yeah."

"But, wait... why do we all have different blood colors?" John asked, hoping that the question would move the unspoken topic along from his staring at Dirk's fiery eyes.

"Well, to answer that, one would have to get a more in depth look at our Alternian history. You see, Alternians are actually very complex and endlessly interesting creatures in that they-" Rose cut herself short when the ship suddenly lurched to one side.

"What was that?" John asked, suddenly gripping his nearly empty ginger ale bottle tight.

"It could be the start of a storm coming in," Roxy suggested.

"Hey Jade," Dirk suddenly spoke as he glanced out the window

"Yeah?" Jade responded.

"Did you tell Jake that we were on our way to the island?" the blond man asked.

"Um... yeah..." Jade admitted sheepishly, "Oh gosh, it wasn't a surprise, was it?"

"Nah, I was actually counting on you telling him," a smirk pulled on the older Strider's lips, his gaze still locked on the window. Bright green suddenly painted his face, filled the entire room in its light.

"W-what is this?! Jade is that you?!" John asked, panicked, looking out his own window to see nothing but crackling lime green light.

"Oh god, Bec..." Jade squeaked and got up fast, dashing for the stairs back up. At least now she knew why Jake had suddenly signed off in a huff. She wondered how many irradiated steaks her brother had bribed her lusus with. "Bec, no! Bad dog! You guys might want to hold on tight to anything welded to the floor.

"Oh, but Dave," Rose started, but it was too late.

In a flash of green the ship disappeared without a trace, the water rippling around where it had been displaced.

John vaguely remembered the feeling of shifting in space suddenly from before. It felt like your guts had suddenly decided to move on their own, tugging the rest of your body along for the ride. So in other words: really fucking weird!

It was over almost as soon as it started, though. With a sloshing bounce, the ship was re-deposited back into the ocean, only one there was a large island within view. Or maybe it only looked large because it was so close.

Jade was the first on her feet finished the trek up the stairs that would take her up to the deck, "I guess we're here," she said with a sheepish smile.

"Where?" John asked, struggling to his feet.

Dirk was quicker to get back up, pushing past the smaller boy with a light shove. The sight that greeted him at the top of the stairs made him smile, "Hell Murder Island."

* * *

Welcome to Hell Murder Island! Also known as: Jake is a jealous goober. But is his jealousy unfounded?

I can't write Jake that well, I'm sorry. :C

I also realized after I was almost completely done with the chapter that Jake and Jade's island is on the Pacific and not the Atlantic ocean... at that point changing it would undo too much of what I had written, so screw it! The island is on the Atlantic ocean for this story! *throws facts and details out the window*

Next chapter might or might not have some more delicious adult content. We'll see how it goes!


	9. Space Manipulating Super Dog

You can't fight against Bec and expect to win. Striders have to learn that the hard way.

Also in this chapter:

* Jealous Jake  
* Boys with gills  
* Killer seagot  
* Possibly a mermaid

* * *

"What could be taking them so bloody long?" the lone figure pacing a stretch of beach asked the open air.

His answer was the normal calls from the jungle, the wind blowing up dry sand that hit his calves, the sound of small waves breaking against the beach. The sun was starting to set now, and with it came the cool breeze of night. In the sweltering jungle that would have been refreshing, satisfying. On the beach, it was just nippy.

Jake English stopped his frantic back and forth path on the sand to glare at the ship still too far a distance for his liking. He couldn't believe that blasted dog hadn't brought them in closer than that. It was still another good fifty or seventyfive yards before they'd even have to start worrying about shallow waters. Ugh, there was no talking reason with that beast, though. He was lucky enough that he got this much of what he wanted at all.

Still, knowing his friends were there just beyond his reach was just as maddening as it had been realizing that they were on their way here without so much as telling him and without considering how he'd feel to be left out of the bonding experience they would have shared days out at sea. They would have gotten here and they would all have been that much closer for the experience, and he would have been the outsider. He already felt like an outsider to begin with, did they have to widen the gap?

And why weren't they at least signaling their arrival? Getting after him for warping them there without notice? His Pesterchum app was much too silent. Were they stalling out there at sea now just to punish him for his petulant and rash action?

It was a possibility.

Jake had known that he was being unreasonable, and maybe even irrational, or at least that the others would see his actions as unreasonable and irrational. But how could they have expected him to not react when they talk about a bonding experience, all of them together where everyone else would get a head start on him?

Not to mention this whole Dirk and John situation, which he knew was more than just his wild imagination! Jade had almost convinced him that he was being jealous and seeing something where there was nothing. But… he trusted his gut instinct! Jade was right, he knew Dirk better than most, and he knew that he wasn't imagining this infatuation!

And Jake knew there was little he could do to compete against a submissive, that instinct itself would make Dirk like John more than him… And the thing was, he knew he couldn't blame the boy for it, either. John didn't choose to be this way, it was all… fated, predetermined. Submissives were important to trolls, hybrids and otherwise. Jake knew that. He knew that a submissive was supposed to be a precious gift, one they should all do their best to protect... But that didn't mean that he would step back and let one woo his beau away from him!

And it was no reason to make him wait out here on the cold beach, either! In fact, they should thank him for cutting their trip short by days! That's right! And he'd be sure to let them know as much! Just as soon as they got to shore...

Any minute now...

Jake glanced out towards the ship again. Maybe he was being impatient, but it didn't seem to be much closer at all.

But that was silly; of course it had to be closer. He just had to wait and be patient.

Be patient...

...

Oh that was it! He didn't care if the water was cold, or whether or not it was safe to swim in, he kicked off his shoes and rolled off his socks, tossing them aside, ready and willing to swim out to them. This was ridiculous and he had no idea why he was being shunned from all this hoopla, but he had every intention of finding out!

* * *

It was a just the smallest bits gratifying for John to know that he wasn't the only one queasy in the aftermath of space displacement travel. Mostly it was just awful. And he wasn't the only one to feel it. The only ones fully on their feet were Jade and Dirk, and the latter looked like he was only standing through sheer force of will. His steps up the stairs were looking unsteady, and he was grabbing onto the hand rails securely. John was up on his feet next, knees knobby, feeling even worse than he had just merely been seasick.

"Ow geez, did somebody get the number of that bus?" Roxy groaned as she and Rose helped each other up to their feet. "Man, I think next time I'll opt out of hyper drive space travel, thanks anyways."

"It does seem rather excessive, doesn't it?" Rose added with a soft groan.

"I don't get it," said John, on his feet now, "If Jade could have warped us all here in the first place, then how come she didn't do that in the first place?" he asked, slowly tottering his way upstairs. "It would have been easier just zapping all of us there instead of moving an entire ship."

"That wasn't Jade just now," Rose corrected as she and Roxy followed John up, "It was actually-"

"My dog, Bec," Jade finished, smiling sheepishly from the top of the stairs, looking over her shoulder. The Amazonian girl was completely nausea free, but then she was use to this sort of travel.

"Your... your dog? The one you always talk about, the over protective one?" John asked skeptically.

"Yes, that's him," Jade nodded, her gaze wandering around the deck in search of said dog. He had to be nearby, she just knew it

"Your dog space warped us here?" John asked again. Jade couldn't have understood him right, there was just no way.

"Yeah, I'm actually surprised myself. He's usually much too fickle to be this precise, especially when it comes to moving so much at once," Jade confirmed.

"Your... dog...?" John was just barely wrapping his head around the fact that apparently he and Jade had super powers, but now Jade's dog, too? What? Was he the Krypto to Jade's Superman?

Jade sighed, "Well, Bec isn't a normal dog, you see," she tried to explain.

"Yeah, I can see that," John said in a small voice.

"The dog is her lusus," Dirk stated like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

It wasn't. "Wow, that explains exactly nothing, but thanks," John remarked, apparently always able to find the time to snark with the older Strider.

Rose sighed, "We're really going to have to have a long talk with you, John. But for now: a lusus is an Alternians's guardian, an above average intelligence creature that raises a troll instead of traditional parents. They're very rare. And even rarer still is that a lusus would pick a hybrid to raise. But Jade and Jake are special exceptions to that rule."

John's lips pursed, turning around just to stare doubtfully at Rose. He was about to tell her how ridiculous that sounded when a flash if green blocked his view of the girl.

"Bec!" Jade exclaimed happily, whirling around towards the source of the energy flash, "Oh," she added quickly with far less enthusiasm, "John, just stand perfectly still." She herself was taking slow, measured steps towards the boy, and more importantly to the large white dog that was staring John down.

Although 'staring down' might not be the right word for it. It didn't really seem to have any eyes to speak of, but the approximation of where it's eyes should have been was facing John head on unerringly. And the shiver down the boy's spine let him know instinctively that this was not a creature to be messed with.

"Bec, come here to me, boy," Jade coaxed, reaching out her hand to touch the beast's head. It didn't react, keeping its nonexistent eyes firmly on the boy it had set its attention on. "Bec," she tried again, this time stepping between the dog and John.

In a flash of green light Jade was behind Bec, facing Rose and Roxy who looked like they were perfecting their impressions of living statues, momentarily disoriented. "Oh! You stubborn dog!" She whirled around, took a step back, and then found herself on the other end of the ship. "BECQUEREL!"

John stood as still as he possibly could, afraid to move, afraid to breathe too deeply. Why was it so focused on him? Had he done something wrong? Did something about him just scream 'PREY'? Was this how he was going to die? Attacked by a space manipulating super dog? Would he be made fun size for easy consuming or maybe he'd just be space warped to the middle of the ocean where he would surely drown…

"Kid, don't move," a low voice spoke behind him.

John had forgotten that Dirk had been behind him. Apparently Bec hadn't been aware of him until then, too because those white ears swiveled up at attention, then lowered slowly, as did it's stance, coiling itself up ready for attack.

"Shit," Dirk muttered so softly that John was almost sure he might have imagined it. The blond was in front of him a split second after, a sword in hand, and who even knew where that had come from!

He herded John back with a sweep of his arm, the smaller boy too startled to do more than silently obey. Bec growled in answer not liking that something had gotten between him and his target. It's lip pulled back in a snarl, displaying a row of sharp, unnaturally white teeth. It was the signal the blond man was waiting for, charging forward into an attack, sword sweeping in an arc, whistling through the air, moving so fast it was nothing more than a blur

"Dirk, no! Stop!" Jade yelled as she bolted back around the ship.

"Di-Stri, whatta you doin?!" Roxy cried out.

It was too late of course. Blade scant millimeters from Bec's face, Dirk disappeared in a flash of green.

"Dirk!" John cried out in alarm. "Where did he go?!"

* * *

This was it, no turning back now! He had committed himself to this endeavor and he wasn't going to chicken out now. He wasn't afraid of possible (definite) monsters in the water! Jake wasn't afraid. And he wasn't hesitating! That wasn't it at all.

Right! No more hesitation. Not that there was any!

Here goes!

One foot into the water and Jake found himself staring down a blade pointed right to his navel, the sharp point stopped short on a dime by pure luck and skill.

Forest green eyes widened in shock, staring back at themselves from the reflective surface of triangular shades, glinting with the evening sunlight.

"D-dirk?" Jake managed to breathe out with just the smallest cracks in his voice.

"Jake?" the blond breathed back softly, breathlessly.

Jake swallowed hard, suppressing a shiver. There he was... the one person he had been looking forward to seeing the most. And Dirk had said his name with such soft reference, a touch of surprise, but mostly such a carefully guarded heat that Jake found himself only able to say his name once again, a touch more heat in his own voice, " Dirk..."

The blond straightened his posture, and Jake took a step towards him, arms opening to pull the usually stoic man into his arms.

"God dammit, no," Dirk cursed, his attention leaving the bronzed man before him, back to the ship at a distance.

"I... I beg your pardon?" But Dirk wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

"How do I get back?" Dirk asked, his gaze never wavering from far ahead, away from Jake.

All warmth left his pit, leaving only a large lump of ice cold anger. Had he... just imagined the fire in his voice? That Dirk was at all happy to see him? He sighed, his voice tinging with the ice freezing his stomach now, "Well it's nice to see you, too Strider..."

* * *

It was clear that whatever Bec was trying to do, he wasn't going to let anyone get between him and the submissive. Not only that, but he clearly had the power to stop anyone who tried. Dirk was gone, and there was no way of knowing where he was and whether or not he was okay.

"Dirk's okay!" Jade said suddenly, as if she had been reading John's thoughts. "I feel him on the island with Jake!"

Well that was a relief at least, John thought. But that was all the relief he was alloted to feel. The strange dog took a step forward, and with a small panicked noise, John took a step back.

"John don't!" Jade warned, standing by Rose and Roxy now, "don't run away, that'll only trigger his instinct to chase you down!"

"What am I suppose to do, then?" John asked, the words muffled, not even letting his lips move if he could help it.

"Just stand still and see what he's going to do. I'm pretty sure he's not going to hurt you," Jade could only hope she sounded more sure about that then she actually was.

"Oh, well, if you're pretty sure," John couldn't help himself, sarcasm was his defense mechanism when he was scared.

"And keep your gaze down, John. Don't look him in the eye, it's a challenge to him if you do," Rose added.

"He doesn't have eyes!" John whined.

"Lay down on your back and show 'im yer belly!" Roxy threw in, wanting to be helpful as well.

"No, don't move, that's a bad idea," Jade rushed to correct.

"Oh, oops," Roxy smiled sheepishly, "My bad. Don't move, Johnny!"

"Not moving," John confirmed with a mutter, "Now what?"

"Now just... stay still until Bec shows us what he wants to do. And if it'll hurt you I'll take care of it, don't worry," Jade said reassuringly.

"Okay... okay, I can do that," John breathed, staying very still, keeping his eyes low, because while he wasn't sure if Bec had eyes anywhere on his body, he was pretty sure they wouldn't be on his legs. "I'm doing it... I'm being very still, and... and he's not moving, and... and now what?"

"John, shoosh!" Jade reprimanded, "Just wait."

And he waited... and waited... and waited... it felt like forever, it was probably just over a minute. It was after another eternal minute before those legs stepped forward again, and John felt his heartbeat increase at least three fold. It took his all to keep from backing away again. His breath caught in his throat and he closed his eyes, tremors racking his frame. He felt more than heard the dog sniff at him, snuffling hot breath against his arm, up to his face.

He chanced opening his eyes and he was meeting Bec's gaze head on, or he could only assume he was from where his eyes should have been. Time stood still, John too afraid to even breathe in case that was the wrong thing to do.

"Bec..." Jade called out again, probably hoping that now that Bec had gotten John's scent, it would be satisfied. "Come here, boy..."

It looked like it might actually work. The white dog's head turned towards the girls, and John felt the tension in his gut start to ease a little.

"John, get back!" a voice roared from overhead. Dave dropped down from high above, sword in hand, and where were those coming from anyways?!

"DAVE!" Jade cried out in alarm just as Rose gasped, "Oh Dave, no!"

Bec snarled, his attention back on John, or rather who had gotten between him and John, baring those sharp fangs again, dripping bright green that had John skittering back more than the fact that Dave could possibly land on top of him. The beast coiled back, Dave landing nimbly in the small space between it and John.

It was the second time a Strider had stepped between Bec and John, sword in hand.

"Dave, don't," John breathed shakily.

"Don't worry, I got this," Dave replied, taking stance, but John noticed the tremor in his voice.

Dave knew more about Bec than John did, knew what there was to fear. More than just the dog's special powers, it was fast, it was deadly, and it could kill Dave with little provocation. Especially due to that red fling he and Jade had had when they were fourteen... that hadn't ended well, as hard as they had tried to part ways on good terms. It had been over a year before things had gotten into some semblence of normal between them again. But Bec never got over it. Bec didn't like Dave, probably never would. But if it meant protecting John, he'd leap into the line of fire. Or into the line of sharp, jagged teeth to the throat as situation called for.

"C'mon, hell beast. You and me, let's go. You know you've wanted to tear into this grade a rib roast, let's do this," Dave taunted, then pushed forward into a sprint.

"NO, DAVE!"

John shot forward fast, but not fast enough, just managing to snag onto the blonde's elbow before green light blinded him.

The last thing he heard was Jade's voice, panicked and desperate, "OH GOD, JOHN!" and then the world deafened all around a loud rushing against his ears, a hard smash against his back, and the sudden sensation of thousands of cold needles stabbing every last available inch of his body at once, it stole his breathe away, filling it with more cold instead, flooding his insides with it, salty and sharp. The world was a strange mixture of heavy and weightless, like floating in pool of half set pudding, and everything was oddly blue.

The ocean, that was the first thing that occurred to John once his mind was able to think around the chilling cold again. John was adrift in it, Bec must have sent them there. But where? How far? Was he still close enough to swim back to the ship? He couldn't tell, he couldn't make out anything. He wasn't even able to tell up from down, legs and arms kicking, flailing, twisting around, trying to find some light, a sign that would point him in the right way to go.

And where was Dave?

Dave!

John stilled for a moment, looking around himself. It was hard to move, and his chest was starting to burn, but if he was this bad, what condition was the blonde in? Had they even been sent to the same place?

But... they had to be! Because Bec had sent Dave away, John had just been stupid enough to go along for the ride. Maybe brave enough, but no. It wasn't brave. What Dave had done was brave, John was just hoping that maybe getting between the two of them would stop the super dog from sending Dave away, but he hadn't moved anywhere near fast enough.

Oh god, where was Dave? Had the impact or the cold knocked him out? John couldn't see him anywhere!

Dave!

He had to find him, but it was getting harder to see, spots dancing in his vision.

Dave...

Black seeped around the edges of his sight, it hurt to move, but instinct told him to move and move fast. He had to find... h-had to...

D-da...

The burning became too much... John couldn't hold it back any longer, what little breath he had left him in a stream of bubbles and the water rushed in, warm and light, replenishing his aching lungs, and so... so... good... it... wait, what? It... That... That wasn't water, it was... air...! Air filled his lungs, sweet, life giving oxygen, and the burning ebbed enough that John's fought his way back to the blue from the black.

The first thing he noticed were pale wisps in the water, then the more solid presence of another body against his own, warm, firm, breathing oxygen back into his lungs. Like those stories of mermaids saving sailors by sharing air with them. Was this a mermaid? Were mermaids a thing that were real, too? John was willing to believe, clung onto his life saver tight, greedily accepting every ounce of oxygen being given to him, feeling lightheaded, but in a good way now as those soft lips moved against his own. Like it was more than just mouth to mouth between them, like it was a kiss. An actual, factual kiss of life.

Fuzzy blackness faded from the edges of his vision, taking a good deal of John's panic along with it. He happily and eagerly kissed his mermaid if this was, in fact, a kiss. It felt like one, a really nice one. Not that John had a lot to compare it to. It didn't feel forced or hard like the way Roxy had kissed him. It was warm and soft, giving and taking.

He could feel himself moving, or rather, feel the water stream along his body as he was moved. He was being lifted back up to the surface, he was sure of it. One more lungful of air and his savoir's mouth pulled away from his own, it was all he could do not to cling on to those soft lips petulantly and continue the soft and sweet lip lock. But John couldn't pass up the chance to get a good look at his rescuer. If it was really a mermaid.

It took a few moments for his eyes to focus properly in the water, but they focused on the figure next to him right away. Pale hair, long limbs, and a perfect profile view of kiss plumped lips and long pale lashes.

It was... it was...

It was Dave!

Dave pressed to his side, holding firmly to John's hand where he had slung his arm over his shoulders, strong legs kicking their way up, back to the surface. Dave had saved his life. Dave had breathed oxygen back into his starving lungs. Dave who he had been... k-kissing...

With a jolt, John's body jerk back and away before he even realized he was moving. Free floating again, he could clearly see Dave now, the confused furrow in the blond's brows as he tried to reach towards him again, his lips pursing into a thin line. Those lips that had been on John's just moments ago, moving together in a way that was far more than simply life giving.

John jerked away from his touch instinctively, then flinched guiltily. He hadn't meant to do that, and the look on Dave's face was so betrayed. But then a fluttering caught John's attention, eyes roving down. Down to where Dave's gills were fluttering back and forth lightly with each breath that the Srider took. Each... breath...

Dave was breathing underwater...

Dave was breathing underwater through his gills...

Dave had gills...

John's eyes shot back up to Dave's face, where he belatedly realized that Dave wasn't wearing his shades. They must have fallen off in their crash landing into the ocean. It was the first time John had seen all of his face, and his eyes drank in the rare sight like a man in a desert who had just found an oasis.

Dave had thick brows and deep set eyes whose color John couldn't really determine. They looked blue-ish purple, but then everything looked blue-ish right now. And why was this suddenly more important than the fact that Dave had fucking gills?! Focus, John!

He did, taking in Dave's face as a whole, his furrowed brows, the downward tick to his lips, his narrowed eyes, wow was Dave a whole lot more expressive without his shades.

No! Stop that! Focus!

John's lips parted to speak, a steam of bubbles rising out of his mouth, quickly clapping his hand over the idiot move. Oh my god, had he actually forgotten for a moment there that he was underwater? He could feel a blush threatening to dust over his cheeks. He bit his lip, they had to get out of the water, back to the surface, and then they could talk.

John tried to fix his face to express that thought wordlessly to the blond, then stopped, eyes widening in shock. Something was in the water. Something far away, but long and large, and coming in fast! He tried he tried to warn the blond, but his expression had been more than enough. Blade in hand again (where had it come from?!), Dave pushed John back, whirling around to face his new opponent as it quickly approached, long, winding, emitting a deafening screech and reverberated in the water.

John could only stare in shock as it got closer, it's features becoming clearer in the dark water. It's body was massive, long, almost like a snake's, but it had a fish finned tail, strange, hooved forelegs, and a head of a goat. It reared back, hooved legs kicking, baring long rows of needle like teeth. It shot past Dave and went straight for him instead, emitting another deafening screech.

It as upon him, and John couldn't move, wouldn't have gotten far even if he tried. All he could do was cry out a flurry up bubbles and curl into a ball as it lunged for him, maw open wide, needle teeth glinting even in the darkness of the ocean. This was it... this was the end. A single smear of blue, darker than the water, escaped the corner of John's eye as he awaited his death. A loud screeched deafened him and he knew he was seconds away from the end, from pain and then... nothing...

He waited...

Waited...

It never came. Instead something smacked into him hard, forcing what little air he had left in his lungs out, bypassing the burning of drowning to cold calm as blackness started to eat away at his vision again, threatened to consume him whole.

He fought against it desperately.

John's eyes opened, and purple stung at his eyes, it was all over the water, making it opaque in places, just cloudy in others.

He tried to make sense of it all, to wave the purple away so he could see something, anything.

What he saw, or at least what he thought he saw, was Dave in the water, back straight, his sword at his side, smoking with the purple fog underwater. He was standing down (so to speak) against the beast coiled around itself and screeching bloody murder, the sound echoey, but ear drum shattering.

More purple fog rose off of it in thick plumes and John realized it was blood. The monster's blood. And it was on Dave's sword... Dave had saved his life... again.

What was concerning were the lines going down the length of the blonde's back, they looked like claws had gouged their way in, but it could have just as easily been tears from barely dodged fangs. Dave had gotten hurt because of him! Dave who was facing down the monster, his back to John, tall and unafraid, ready to fight, ready to defend... him...

Dave who was risking his life for him.

Dave who was always there for him...

It was the last thought that floated in John's mind before blackness rose up to consume him whole. It was cold, but oddly peaceful, gently falling, floating, down... down... down...

Quiet...

* * *

Dave didn't think he'd ever get used to breathing through his gills. Above ground he had to make a conscious effort sometimes just to keep them closed, because without water to filter, straight up pure air through those fuckers hurt like a bitch! But right now, it was saving his life... and more importantly, it was saving John's.

A fucking seagoat, just what he needed! Welcome to the fucking island, John! Where half the things in it will want to eat you so much as look at you.

He didn't have time to mentally rant right now, he had a monster to dispatch. He had delivered a pretty good blow a moment ago, gotten it's attention away from Egbert, now all he had to do was deliver the finishing blow and soon or there was a good chance neither of them would survive.

It was fast, but Dave was faster, appearing and disappearing in flashes and he manipulated time to slow the thing down, giving him an unfair advantage, but this wasn't a spar, this was a fight for his life. For John's life. It came at him, and the blond flashed out of the trajectory of it's teeth. Dave was beside it, then he was under it. His blade slit it's underbelly all the way up to it's throat like it was made of warm butter, spilling it's guts into the water with so much purple, and then for good measure he lopped off it's head. Those fuckers were hard to kill, and overkill was better than underkill.

The ocean was purple, it was almost impossible to see in it, but Dave knew he had to grab John and get away fast. It was only a matter of time before the scent of blood attracted more predators, and as interesting and practicing his aquatic swordplay was, he'd rather get the hell out of dodge.

Now where... was... John...?

Dave turned in a circle. He... he wasn't... anywhere in sight...

The younger Strider felt his heart slam against his rib cage, searching frantically, looking up to see if maybe John had made a break for the surface on his own, and then, not finding trace of the boy up above, with a leaden heart, he looked down.

There... in the distance... a small, slowly sinking figure. Dave couldn't make out it's shape, but he wasn't going to waste time trying to determine whether it was John or not for sure. Legs kicking hard, gills flaring wide, breathing deep, he shot straight down in the water like an arrow, forcing time to stop seconds here and there to get there faster.

The closer he got, the further away he seemed, and his lungs burned from the exertion, but he kept pushing forward, down, deeper until the water grew darker, colder, the pressure in his ears painful. He reached down, desperate fingers outstretched, brushing against thin, cold limbs, and grabbing hold, pulling up hard as his body veered straight up, legs kicking double time, breathing in deep, exhaling fast. John was cold in his arms, but then he had thought that since the smaller boy's change. Their core blood temperature's were different now after all. But this was too much, too cold, and he had to get John to land fast, to where the sun could warm him, to where he could build a fire, before John's heart refused to start again.

NO! He couldn't let himself think that. Time stopped and he pushed through it until it gave out again. Why...? WHy hadn't he practiced more with his powers?! Why did everything he chose to do end up coming back to bite him in the ass?! To cost him what was most dear...

A stitch stabbed sharply at Dave's side, but he ignored it, pushed past it, kicking upwards, hard, desperate, but the surface was too far away, and what if he couldn't make it in time? Then all this would be for nothing... and John would... he would...

No! NOOO!

He had to make it! There were no other options. He held time again and again, for as long as he could, until his own vision started to fuzz from exertion. But it felt like no matter how hard he tried, the distant light wasn't getting any closer. No... John, no!

He squeezed the boy tight to him, reassuring himself of John's presence, and what he was trying to save. He had to make it, he had to-!

A flash of green, the world spun, and then he was choking, gills and lungs burning, grit clinging to his side and heat gently stroking his back even as a chill wind robbed away the warmth he gained and more.

* * *

"Jake, don't do this right now," Dirk spoke in what he hoped were calm, even tones.

They were, but that only infuriated the taller boy more. How could he be so calm and collected at a time like this?! "Whatever it is you think I'm doing, if not now, then when, Strider?"

"You're being angry and unreasonable about not having the whole of my attention when there are more important things at hand to deal with right now," the Strider explained.

"More important things like that Egbert boy?" Jake asked coldly.

"Yes," the blond agreed.

The simple confirmation stung, "You fancy him, don't you?"

"What?" now Dirk's attention was on him at last, "That's ridiculous. Are you jealous of John?"

"It's not friggin flipping ridiculous, Strider!" Jake said angrily. "Even from far away I can see the way you get all moon eyed over that boy, taunting and teasing him like a hooligan in the schoolyard with a crush. Pushing over the girl he's sweet on to get her attention. I know you!"

Dirk didn't know what to say to that, mostly because... well it was partly true, but not at all in the way Jake thought, "J, I..."

A flash of green caught his attention, as well as Jake's, both boy's turning around as one just in time to see two bodies hit the sand a few meters off. One of them got up right away, dripping wet, their movements stiff, pained. Even at a distance, Dirk knew that blond head of hair anywhere. And the older Strider was moving before he knew it.

"Dave!"

* * *

Dave rolled off of John, onto his hands and knees as his body convulsed, once twice, then water was gushing out of Dave's mouth, burning out his nose as his lungs emptied themselves of sea water and became useful again, breathing in burning lungfuls of air.

"Dave!" He heard a voice call out to him, but he ignored it, ignored the way his body was shaking violently, crawled back over to the small boy who was too still in the sand, far too still.

"John..." he wheezed, voice shaking as he tipped John's head back pinched the boy's nose closed and sealed their lips together for a second time, breathing into him, for him.

He pulled back, moving to start chest compressions, but his brother was already there, pumping his cupped hands over John's chest, not asking what happened, or why they were both wet and dripping purple. It was that unspoken understanding between them again, details could wait, they ahd to, there was a life to save. Periphally Dave noticed that English was there now, too. Standing awkward as usualy. Never sure what to do with himself. That didn't matter right now, either. Only John mattered right now.

Dave just nodded and he timed Dirk's chest compressions to his own mouth to mouth. It took three times before John's body shook and he coughed up water. Dirk was quick to roll the boy onto his side to empty out his lungs, refill them with air.

"D-dave...?" it was the first coherent thing out of John's mouth, and those bleary eyes focused on him, and it shouldn't have made his heart do a loop de loop, but there it was.

"Y-yeah... I'm right here, bro," Dave wheezed with his own raspy voice, taking John's hand in his own and giving it a light squeeze.

John smiled softly, tiredly, and nodded his head once, "G-good..." he managed to gasp out, then he was out again.

"He does that a lot, doesn't he?" Dirk asked beside him. Dave found the wherewithal to shove his brother. Hard.

"We should get you boy's inside," Jake said softly, posture subdued. But it him that scooped John into his arms, saving Dave from trying to, and Dirk from stopping him.

Dave tried to argue it anyways, but Dirk just clapped his brother on the shoulder, nearly sending the younger Strider down to his knees again.

"John's gonna be fine. Worry about yourself a little," Dirk chastised quietly, then hoisted Dave's arm around his shoulders, supporting his little brother's weight as he helped him up the long, winding trek back to Jake and Jade's house.

"Oh god, kill me now," Dave moaned, head tipping back, eyes landing on the towering home built on top of a small mountain peak.

"Nah," Dirk smirked softly, "That'd save you too much suffering"

* * *

John was getting tired of waking up without remembering going to sleep, much less where he fell asleep. But here he was again, tucked under a soft, warm blanket on a large bed, in a room he didn't recognize.

It wasn't Dave's room. The bed was too large, situatated centrally instead of at a corner, and the room itself was much to tidy, to bare to ever belong to Dave. The walls were white, bare save for a tapestry of... John wasn't even sure what that was supposed to be, something with gray creatures, a large green monster, and some knights? His head hurt way too much to really put a lot of effort into deciphering it. There was a dresser, a trunk at the foot of the bed, and a head of blond hair slumped against the bed beside him.

"Dave...?" John said softly, but didn't even recognize his own voice. It as too scratchy and hoarse to be his own voice, and yet when he tried again, it sounded just the same. "Dave..."

"Nngh..." the head of blonde, disheveled hair slowly lifted itself up from it's faceplant on the mattress, a hand coming up to rub at tired eyes. Those eyes fluttered opened, "John?"

Red... that's all John saw. Vibrant, bewitching, lustrous red framed by long, pale lashes. They looked fever bright and haggard, but they were still one of the most captivating things he had ever seen. They were warm, a heat that promised to always keep him from the cold, burning him with soft licking flames that would only make him want to fall in deeper.

"-hn... John?"

John's breath caught in his throat. He was doing it again, fallin away into exotic eye colors until reality was a far away place he had to struggle his way back into.

"Ah... umm..." he flushed, and he just knew his cheeks were blue. He tried to clear his throat, but that just proved to be painful, "W-where... where are we?"

If Dave noticed his odd staring, or his blushing, he didn't say anything on it, but there was the smallest upward ticks to his lips. Those lips that had been on his own before, soft, and warm, and life giving.

John felt the heat of his blushing spread up to the tips of his ears.

"You okay there, buddy?" Dave's voice was smug, so he did notice, and he knew what his flustering was about. That bastard!

"I'm... I'm fine," John quickly lied, "Where are we again?"

Dave rolled his eyes, and wow, he really was so expressive without his shades covering half his face, "Right. Well, like I was saying. We're on Jade's island. Or what Dirk and Jake call Hell Murder Island. This is one of Jade's guest rooms. The one I'm assuming you've been assigned to during you stay."

"Oh..." John said simply, looking around the room again, finding a window this time that overlooked... a high view of the entire island, "Holy fuck, are we a mountain or something?"

"Or something," Dave snorted softly. "You wanna brave getting up? Everyone's here already. I can show you around. Meet the others for a pow wow on what our next move is."

"Yeah, I think I can manage that with my frail body made out of broken porcelain and wet glue," John said with a roll of his eyes.

Dave's brows furrowed into a frown, "Maybe you don't remember much of what happened out there Egbert, but you almost drowned. And I mean literally stopped breathing, almost didn't restart type of drowning. No shame in being a little weak after something like that."

John flinched, dropping his gaze, "You... you saved me..." he said instead of apologizing like he meant to.

Dave pulled back, surprised, "Ah... umm... yeah, I... I guess...?"

John shook his head a little, "No... you don't guess.. You did... twice... or maybe three times now...? So I... Thanks for that... and I'm sorry for being a turd right now."

Dave's cheeks flushed a light red and John smiled, glad he got that small bit of payback, "Don't even worry about it, man."

But how unfair was it that Dave got to keep his normal blood color? Well... actually, judging from the color of his eyes, his blood was probably a few shades brighter than a normal human's blood. But wow, that was still remarkably close.

"So give me the grand tour," John changed the subject, carefully sitting up in case his body refused to comply. It protested int he form of sore muscles, but nothing he hadn't been dealing with the past couple of days. He turned to the side of the bed opposite Dave, feet slipping down to the floor soft, carpted floor, letting himself luxuriate in that for a moment, then he carefully got up, stretching tired, aching muscles, "Nnnngh! Man, how long do you think it'll take for me to be able to wake up without feeling sore all over?"

Dave choked, his face bright red now, looking up at the ceiling, "You'll... you'll get used to it and it'll stop feeling sore," he stumbled over his own words, the coloring reaching up to the tips of his pointed ears. John hadn't noticed that they were pointed before, but then if his own were, why wouldn't Dave's be?

"I hope so," he muttered petulantly.

"Uh... Egbert... you might wanna... umm... get back in bed or..." Dave mentally cursed himself for his stuttering, floundering around for anything he could say, one smooth thing, anything. But it was all he could do not to look back down.

"What..? Why would I want to get back into bed? I just got out." John inquired, brow quirking up, "And what are you looking at?"

"Ah... well, not much, just trying to be a decent guy is all. Trying not to catch an eyeful," though if he were honest, he already had.

"An eyefull of wha-"John glanced down at himself, naked as the day he was born, if a lot bigger and further developed than he had been when he was born. With a yelp, he dove back under the covers, "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"

"I thought I did," Dave muttered, rubbing at the bridge of his nose, a nervous habit, since his shades clearly weren't bothering him right now.

"Why am I naked?!" John asked instead of conceding the point.

"Well..." Dave glanced back down slowly, making absolutely sure he wasn't about to start an incident with his best friend, mildly disappointed when he didn't, "after we were warped out of the ocean, and you started breathing again, we were both covered in sea water and seagoat blood, so we both needed to wash up and so did our clothes."

"Wait," John glanced at his perfectly clean arms, and completely untacky with blood hair, "Someone washed me while I was unconscious?! They saw me naked?!" Oh god! Oh god, someone saw him naked! The way he looked! With his extra bits and... and things he didn't want to think about!

"Don't worry about it, Jade took care of you," Dave shrugged his shoulders.

"JADE SAW ME NAKED?!" John screeched.

Dave winced, "Well... yeah, but you're making it sound a lot worse than it is."

"How can it be not worse than it is?! She... she saw me naked! She saw me... and... and she... oh my god!" John ducked under the covers, curling into a ball, hugging his knees to his chest.

Dave sighed, patting the best friend lump under the covers, "C'mon man, it's not like you've got something she hasn't seen before."

John tensed at that. Did... Dave know...? About his changes? Well... yeah, he was the one that was compltely clueless about this whole troll heritage, dominant/submissive thing. Of course Dave had to know more than he did. But... wait... John had both, did Dave think that he had lost his... or did that mean...

"How do you know what Jade's seen before?" he asked accusingly, peeking the top of his head out of the covers.

Dave blinked a few times, quirking a brow, "Because she's got what you got, too," he said like it was a clear cut case.

John's spluttered indignantly, cheeks coloring blue all over again, "I'll have you know I still have what I had before! It didn't go away!"

Dave coughed a little, "Yeah, I saw."

John squeaked, ducking back down, "Y-you saw? A-all of it...?"

It was Dave's turn to sputter, "N-not..." He cleared his throat, "Not all of it. Just... what you had before..."

"You... you don't think it's weird that... that I have both now...?" There... he was... he was finally talking about it, but he didn't dare look out from the covers this time.

"No, not at all," Dave blurted out, then bit his lip, mulling over the rest of his answer. "I think it's..." hot as fuck, "pretty normal. I mean... You're still thinking in regular human terms, but we're more than that. We always have been."

John finally peeked out, "Well... I... I guess... but you guys... you always knew what you were, right? What we are?"

Dave nodded, letting John finish his train of thought without interruption.

"I... I didn't know at all. All this time, I grew up thinking I was just an ordinary guy, that I'd lead this normal, boring life, and just be another cog in the system, you know?"

"You grew up thinking you were going to be another drone? That's all you aspired to be?" Dave asked, brow quirked.

"NO!" John huffed, "I wanted to be a comedian when I was younger, but... I... I guess, I just... started becoming cyncial at some point... I don't know... THE POINT IS! I'm not that now, and I never will be, but I don't know... I'm way more different than I ever thought I could be. And... And now I'll never fit into any form of human society..."

"Says who?" Dave demanded.

"Dave," John sighed, "I have horns... and whenever I blush or maybe even when I get a fever or too hot, my skin turns blue. That's... that's not normal, and people would think I was a freak."

"So all that means is that you need to learn a bit of control. And you can start wearing funny hats or something," Dave shrugged, "You're only as limited as you let yourself be."

John worried his bottom lip between his teeth, "Maybe... But the funny hat thing, that won't work if I ever get a respectable job, or even when I just get older. Can you imagine a 50 year old version of me wearing a silly hat?"

"Yeah," Dave's lips pulled up in a smile, "I can... It'd be just like you. Who the fuck cares what other people think, man. The only people who should matter are the people who are the most important to you. And if they can't accept you the way you are, then they don't deserve a spot in your heart."

John was stunned silent, staring at Dave. He felt a funny flutter in his chest that made him smile shyly, "Heh... yeah. I guess you're right... No. You are right! I... I can do it, I just... have to be a bit creative is all," he suddenly grinned, his chest feeling a lot lighter, "Yeah!"

"There's the Egbert I know and love," Dave smirked lightly.

But it stopped John short. L-love...? No... wait. Calm down, you're thinking too much into it John. If Dave had said that even a week ago, John would have taken the statement in stride (haha, stride), and even told Dave he loved him right back, because he would have meant it as bros, just like he was sure Dave meant it now. But... his mind wandered back to their kiss back underwater. Because he was sure that Dave had been kissing him just as much as John had been.

Except... that hadn't been a kiss at all. That had been Dave saving his life when he could still breathe and John clearly couldn't! He was seeing too much where there was nothing. It didn't mean anything more than the fact that Dave would be willing to go pretty much any distance to save his life. Yeah... Yeah, that was all it really meant. Just like John was sure he would have done for Dave if the situation had been reversed. Right! It wasn't romantic or anything, it was life saving. Anyone with a heart would have done the same.

Especially best bros.

Yeah...

That's what they were. Best bros... Just... best bros.

John shook away those stray thoughts and the furrow in his brow, sitting up in the bed again, this time wrapping the blanket around himself and tying the end at his shoulder like a toga before he got to his feet, "Okay, so about that tour..."

Dave had watched a war wage itself on John's face, down to the end, whatever he had been fighting about. He didn't ask, though he was dying to know. Instead he stuffed his hands into his pocket and offered a customary Strider smirk, motioning with his head, "C'mon."

They both walked like old men with aching joints, something that made John giggle, when a thought occurred to him, "Hey Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"You said Jade has what I have..."

"Yeah."

"But you saw that I still have what I had before..."

"Mm-hmm..."

"Does... Does that mean Jade has a dick?!"

Dave laughed the way only John could ever get him to laugh, "We'll let Rose field that question man, I'm not talking about it."

"Awww, but Dave!" John whined.

* * *

I DID IT!

Okay, so I probably didn't mention this before, but this story was my unofficial NaNoWriMo. Completely unofficial, seeing as these clearly aren't my original characters. I remembered nanowrimo too late, and I just decided I'd write a long fic idea that I had and see if I could make it to 50,000 words by the end of the month with my work schedule. And I DID IT! YAY ME!

But now that the month is over what does that mean?

It means that chapters might come a bit slower and definitely shorter, and I'll probably be posting other story ideas I have at the same time. I'm not sure yet, but that seems like the most likely of outcomes.

But worry not! I have no intention of giving up on this story any time soon, or ever! :3

See you next time!

Oh! Also, I had promised the possibility of adult content for his chapter. I was going to... I had some nice Dirk/Jake planned, but then Dave and John had to nurture the seed that is their possible romance. It's all very Inu-Yasha-ish! Romantic development, then back track, back track, back track! I promise it won't be that way for long!


	10. A Few Explanations

A few questions are answered. Many more remain And things get silly. John tries to figure out relationships within their group, and of course, no story is truly complete until Dave has been embarrassed.

* * *

"Where do we even start?"

"How about asking him where the toga party is at?"

"Shush it!"

"He's got nice legs."

"One would assume that the beginning is the most logical place to start."

"That'll take too long. How much does he know?"

"Not much."

"We haven't had a chance to tell him all that much."

"Everything that pertains to him seems to freak him the fuck out."

"Well you can't blame him!"

"Yeah, we had our whole lives to mentally prepare, John didn't."

"And you boys wouldn't understand what it feels like to change so drastically!"

"Yeah, you're not being sympathetic enough!"

"The last thing he needs is to wallow in a pity party that we allowed him to have just to be sympathetic. He needs to grow the fuck up and accept the hand life dealt him."

"We could just stop talking like I'm not right fucking here with you guys!" John groused, making sure every last one of them received the full weight of his glare. He shifted a bit in his seat, self conscious of his sheet toga, the only thing keeping him modest in front of all the stares that were now on him.

Jade's house was... eclectic. It was more of a mansion tower than an actual house, but it was homey, lived in, and filled to the brim with strange knick knacks and doodads. Each room seemed to have its own theme, from rooms filled with taxidermies of the strangest creatures John had ever seen, to a room filled with archeological artifacts that almost made him swoon. Jade's house had a mummy! A mummy! And then there was that weird room filled with pictures of models and celebrities all painted blue. Yeah... that... that was a thing.

And Dave had given him a tour of it all. In reality, they had to go through most of those rooms just to reach the living room on the ground level, where everyone else was. But the two friends took the time to take each interesting room in, laughing and joking about all the odd things they'd find. It was just like John had always imagined hanging out with Dave in person would be like. It was nice, this being with your friends in person thing. It almost made up for all the crap his life was dealing him with right now.

The living room had a large fireplace, and large, cushy couches where the two best friends had met up with the rest of their group. John had been given 'the seat of honor,' a high back chair that faced all the other couches. Dave had taken a seat next to Rose, and Roxy and sat herself as close to John as possible, something John noticed seemed to make Dave frown. The youngest boy was sure of it now, Dave had a crush on Roxy and seeing her flirt with his best friend was making him jealous. John would have to assure Dave later that he didn't have to get upset. He wouldn't flirt with Roxy if it upset Dave, he knew the honor code and Dave definitely knew Roxy well before John did.

Jade sat down on John's other side, smiling at him encouragingly. Next to her sat a guy that John could only assume was Jade's half brother, Jake. He was large, about a foot taller than he was, muscular, and dark, his skin a few shades darker than Jade's. He had messy black hair that almost reminded John of his own, and green eyes darker than Jade's. So if the eye/blood color theory applied to Jake as well, that meant Jake's eyes were green. Probably a pure green rather than the lime green Jade's eyes were. Those green eyes and fixed him with a hard look and then they had turned their attention on Dirk who had sat down next to him, his whole posture angling itself towards the sunny blonde.

He had black fingernails, John noted with interest, because Jake didn't look like the kind of guy who would wear nail polish even on a lark. That seemed more like something Dave or Dirk would do. But then John didn't really know much at all about Jake and what he would or wouldn't do.

There they were, all of them gathered at last, and yet John couldn't help the feeling that someone was missing.

But none of that mattered right now.

What mattered to him most is that as soon as they had all sat down they had started talking to each other. About John. Like John wasn't there at all. And that pissed him off the most.

"Aww, are we ignoring you, Johnny? Sorry, sweetie. But it is kinda funny, huh? Ignoring ya to talk about what we should do with you," Roxy tittered.

Jade sighed, smiling sheepishly, "You're right John, I'm sorry. Back on the ship we told you that you could ask us about any questions you might have about all of this. We can continue from there and we can fill in on anything we think is important that didn't come up already."

"That sounds agreeable to me," Rose said.

"What does he know so far?" Jake asked, sparing John a casual glance.

"Well we got as far as explaining to John that our eye color is also our blood color, and that we don't all in fact have blue blood like he does," Jade explained.

"Seems simple enough," Jake nodded.

"Yeah, but why is that?" John asked, "Why do we all have different blood colors? And I'm assuming everyone else's eyes changed colors when they changed, because my eyes weren't this blue before."

"Simplest way to explain it is by saying that we've got different blood colors because trolls do," Dave shrugged.

"But why?"

"It's hard to say for sure," Rose hummed thoughtfully, "The Alternian race does have a class caste system based on their blood colors, but I don't think there is any research available on why their blood colors differ in the first place."

"A class system?" John repeated curiously.

"Yes," Rose smiled, eyes bright as she leaned over Dave, eager to share her information with someone honestly curious, "There are twelve recorded blood castes in the Alternian race," she started to explain.

"Here she goes again," Dave muttered, catching the elbow that was aimed as his gut with a quirked eyebrow, "Whoa, low blow, Lalonde."

"Hush, Strider. I have no time for your sass," Rose sniffed, "Anyways, the blood castes goes as follows from lowest to highest: burgundy, bronze, yellow, lime, olive, jade, teal, cobalt, indigo, purple, violet, and fuchsia."

John's brow furrowed, "Wait, my eyes were more cobalt before I changed, and besides you and Jade and maybe Jake, I don't think anyone of us have blood colors that fit the colors you just said."

Rose smiled that mysterious smile of hers, "I believe Jade's blood is a shade brighter than they have for lime green, and my own blood is a shade lighter than what officially constitutes a purple blood color for Alternians. Jake's blood is too pure a green as well."

"I don't get it," John said, brow furrowed.

"We're hybrids, bro. Our blood is mutated from their's," Dave explained, easing Rose way from where she was practically doubled over his lap. "It's part of the reason they don't like us. You know, besides the fact that they're pure blood elitists."

"Loathe as I am to admit it, Dave is right," Rose sighed.

"Wow, thanks," Dave snorted.

"That is not how I meant it, and you know it. It's just frustrating that so much of our heritage is a mystery to us simply because of the way we were born."

"Sorry, Rose," John found himself saying.

The ash blond girl smiled, "It's alright, John. I'll try to use the information I do have at hand to help you as best as I am able."

"Ah... Don't worry about it," this felt like it was getting far too close to broaching a subject that he wasn't ready to talk about, so John pushed on with the subject, "So they just drew a random lottery to decide which end of the color spectrum got to be on top of the caste?"

"So you did notice it was a spectrum," Rose clapped her hands together once, fingers twining.

"Well, yeah," John flustered a little, "I mean… I know my basic colors and stuff…"

"A lot of things define the caste system's order," Dirk suddenly cut in, "The main reason being the life expectancy rates of each blood color. Burgundy lives for about forty to sixty years on average, and fuchsia seems to be conditionally immortal, there hasn't been a single reported case of a fuchsia blood dying of old age. So being the longest lived, and having the most time to accumulate wealth, power, and knowledge, fuchsia bloods are the basically the royal family of trolls while burgundy bloods are usually grunt workers, with the rest of the blood colors falling in between accordingly."

"Wait, wait, wait," John waved his arms, trying to clear away this new cloud of confusing information, "life expectancy? How... does that affect us?" A different life expectancy hadn't been something John had been worried about at all, but now it was in the forefront of his mind flashing blinding red alarm lights.

Rose and Dirk shared a look, Dave shifted uncomfortably, as did Jake, while Jade and Roxy were looking at John almost pityingly.

"It's hard to say," Jade was the one who finally spoke up. "We can make a guess estimate about how long each of us will live by our blood color and where exactly it falls in the color spectrum, but it's our humanity that leaves us with a lot of blank spaces. There have been hybrids that've lived almost four hundred years, while most will make it a few years or so after a hundred before they die."

John had to think about that, looking at each person in the room in turn, mentally calculating where they would fall on the spectrum before he even worried about himself, "So..."

"Bro, Jade, and Jake fall in the slightly above average lifespan bracket. You and Rose have higher chances of living extended lives. And me and Roxy drew the wild card of having blood colors that fall between the highest color on the spectrum and the lowest, though Rox has slightly higher odds of living forever, and I have higher chances of dying at the very start of my golden years," Dave listed off both John's assumptions and the answers to the questions that had been on the tip of his tongue.

"Mwahaha, fear me, I will live forever!" Roxy cackled, "Maybe I should start playing in the stock market, accumulate my wealth and play Wall Street like a bunch of saps."

"Dave, your human side likely means you'll live longer than you're assuming even if you are in fact closer to burgundy than fuchsia on the caste system," Rose said with a voice that spoke of numerous occasions talking over this tired subject.

"Yeah, but I'd rather be a realist than hope for the best," Dave shrugged.

"Your assumption doesn't make you a realist, David, it makes you a pessimist," Rose sighed, and then waved her hand like she was done talking about it.

John didn't like the idea that he might outlive Dave, any of his friends, by a copious amount of years. The thought that Dave had the opposite to worry about made a painful sliver of something twist in his stomach. His best friend... And he didn't want to think about it anymore!

"Okay," he piped up, "so besides blood colors, we have other weird things that make us different, right? Like our skin is different now, considering I have blue blood and yet I don't look like I'm dead or anything like that. And Jade has green blood, but she doesn't look like she's constantly sick. Oh, and I noticed I'm not the only one with pointy ears, either. And of course, I have my horns. I know Dave doesn't have horns, but he does have gills. Are gills a dominant troll thing or something else?"

"Hey, look at that, the brat notices other people, too," Dirk remarked, earning him an elbow to the side from Jake. "Fuck, what did I do now?" he winced.

"Sometimes I forget what a massive friggin idiot you can be, Strider. Just keep your trap shut if you can't stop picking on the boy every time you let your gums fly," Jake groused.

John gawked at Jake in surprise. He hadn't expected him to come to his rescue of all people. While they had had amicable chats a couple of times over Pesterchum, John wasn't blind. Jake had either been giving him hard, displeased looks, or avoiding looking at him at all since the moment he and Dave had walked into the living room. Jake was pretty much a mystery to the submissive. He had a funny accent, but then so did Jade, but his was probably more notable due to the words he spoke more than anything else. From the few chats they had been together in, John always thought that Jake typed like he was from the 1920's Britain or something. Still, if he was going to keep Dave's brother in line like that, he could learn to accept the funny way he spoke.

"There's lots of stuff that we get from our troll genes," Roxy spoke up before Dirk could say something that was probably going to be amazingly stupid of the Strider and would just piss Jake off more.

She got up from her seat and wedged herself in snugly between the two boys, not a care about how little room there actually was for her on the couch. Dirk scooted himself to the side until he was pressed firmly against the arm of the couch with nowhere else to go. And Jake himself didn't seem to mind that Roxy was half on him.

"A whole plethora of freaky shit to randomly inherit," Dave added as he slid over the now empty space Roxy had left behind to sit himself besides John.

"Like gills," John said, quirking a brow at the sudden shift in the seating chart.

"Like horns that look like they should be in someone's Halloween candy bowl," Dave nodded.

"And black fingernails?" John asked, glancing over at Jake just in time to see the older man jump in his seat and regard him with wide, shocked eyes. "Just a guess," he said sheepishly.

"A very astute one," Rose smiled, "We each have our own unique physical inheritance from our Alternian ancestors. It could be something easily apparent, or it could be something easily overlooked, like fingernails," the last she added to reassure Jake, who was still looking rather frazzled.

"Apparently not that easily overlooked," the man muttered, crossing his arms across his chest, making sure his hands were tucked out of view.

"Aw, Jakey, I like your nails, don't hide 'em," Roxy gently cupped Jake's face between both her hands, drawing his face down towards her own.

For a second John thought they were going to kiss, but in the end, they touched foreheads. Jake took a deep breath as Roxy stroked her thumbs against the bottom of his ears, visibly deflating as he exhaled slowly.

Kiss or no kiss, that was still oddly intimate, but when John glanced at Dave, he didn't seem the least bit ruffled at the PDA. So then... had he been wrong about the platinum blond liking the older girl? Then why did he give John dirty looks when Roxy flirted with him?

Weird.

"Thanks, Rox. You always know what to do to unknot my own convoluted thoughts in a jiffy," Jake murmured with a touch of a smile.

"Anythin' for my pale baby love," Roxy giggled.

Definitely a couple, John confirmed.

"I think your nails are just fine the way they are, too," Dirk said, and maybe John was imagining it, but it looked like the older Strider might be sulking a little. "You don't have to hide them or file them down. Not your nails and not-" his words stumbled to a quick stop in front of the murderous glare Roxy was fixing on him, or maybe it was the pained look on Jake's face.

There was something going on there, John thought to himself. It was also probably not any of his business, though.

"Ummm," he cleared his throat a little, "So I have horns, Dave has gills, and Jake has his nails. What do the rest of you have?" He glanced over at Jade as he said this, fixing a scrutinizing stare on her, or rather the dog eared hoodie he hadn't seen her without since he first saw her.

Jade laughed, a tinge of light green coloring her cheeks (Rose was right, it was fascinating to watch), "Alright, you got me!" She reached up and very cautiously removed the hood, careful not to yank on the long, pointed horns that here hidden within the pockets in her custom made dog eared hoodie. They did look rather like dog ears, only colored like candy corn, and not a speck of fur on them. There were at least four times the size of John's barely visible horns.

"I knew it!" John pointed accusingly.

"It's not like I meant to keep them from you! It's just a habit now that if other people are around, I usually keep my hood on. It's nothing personal," Jade stuck her tongue out at him.

"We all have our little habits," Rose commented quietly.

"Wow, they're a lot bigger than mine," John breathed out softly, a little prickle in his tone. Oh god, was he jealous that Jade had bigger horns than him?!

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, John," Jade laughed, rubbing sheepishly just below one of her horns, "Mine have had more time to grow in. They might still get bigger than this, too. But I think in the end, your horns will be longer than mine."

"Wha...?" John took it back, there was not an ounce of horn envy there, "My horns are going to get bigger?!"

"Wel... yeah... in the next few months they'll start to grow out, and I don't really know how long it'll take before it stops. Each trolls' horns are unique," Jade explained.

"Yours are going to be majestic as fuck," Dave encouraged, and maybe John was imagining this too, but he felt like there might have been a bit of horn envy in Dave's tone, too.

Why were any of them jealous of horns?! They were so inconvenient! How would he even hide his? They had a curve to them and were growing back unlike Jade's that grew straight up.

"And don't worry about headaches, John. We have some sopor pills here that you can use while you adjust to their weight as they get bigger," Jade smiled helpfully.

"Oh god, kill me now," John groaned.

"Oh! My turn, my turn!" Roxy cheered suddenly, slipping away from the now docile Jake. She stood in the middle of the 'U' of couches, smoothing her hands down her sides with a flourish. "Get a look at these bad boys," she suddenly lifted her shirt up

"Oh my god!" it was John's knee-jerk reaction to look away, covering his eyes with a hand so that he couldn't be accused of sneaking a side glance.

He felt the heat of a blush rise on his cheeks as Roxy laughed at him, "It's okay, cutie pie, you can look. I won't mind. I'll even let you touch them if you're good." John just knew she was winking just then.

"ROXY!" Jake gasped, disapproval in his tone.

"Aw, I'm just messin' with him, Jakey. He knows that, dontcha Johnny?"

John wasn't so sure about anything. No, that wasn't true. He was pretty sure that under normal circumstances Dave would be laughing at him right now, too. Hell, Jade was giggling, and he can hear Rose's quiet titters from behind her hand. But he didn't hear his best friend laughing, didn't even feel the weight of his smug smirk like he could feel Dirk's. But he could hazard a guess that what Roxy was showing was PG-13 at best, gauging by everyone else's reactions.

He opened his eyes.

Roxy's shirt was rucked up to just below her breasts, only giving the smallest peeking view of her bra from the sides, but John didn't really notice any of that.

It was hard to when the large slits of her gills took up all of the attention. Similar to Dave's, there were three on either side along her ribs, but unlike Dave's they were lined with bright pink instead of red, and, "They're bigger than Dave's…"

Dirk choked on a grin even as Roxy snorted and fell into a giggle fit so hard that she almost fell backwards.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Roxy squealed between huffs of laughter and desperate intakes of air, "Oh my god, I can't breathe! I have a stitch in my side, call life alert!"

"W-what? What?!" John wasn't sure what he just said, but around him all his friends were in different states of amusement, Jade curled over herself, shoulders shaking in bitten back laughter, Rose pursing her mouth on a smile so hard that her lips had disappeared from view. Jake was literally choking on his laughter, doubled over as watery green trickled from the corner of his eyes as Dirk patted his back.

Poor Dave was sputtering around words, his face a bright red. "It's not about the size, Egbert. It's how you use it!" he finally managed to say much louder than he actually meant to.

This just doubled everyone's laughter, Roxy actually falling back on her ass, arms curled over her stomach from her near painful laughter. "Oh god! OH MY GAWD! Dave! Davey no! You killed me! This is how I die!"

John had to admit, when Dave put it like that, it was pretty funny, his chest quaking, shoulders shaking in silent laughter. "It's okay, Dave, most girls find that they prefer the cuddling underwater afterwards, anyways."

Roxy shrieked in laughter and even Dirk actually chuckled a little at his joke. John felt oddly proud.

Until Dave shoved him so hard, he winded himself on the opposite arm rest, coughing once.

The room quieted down outside of a quiet 'ooooooh' from Roxy.

Eyes wide, John stared at Dave's equally surprised expression, though the younger Strider was quick to school it back to neutral. John's surprise melded down to a frown, Dave's brow quirking up in answer. Then John's frown morphed into a wide, toothy grin and Dave had a second to look surprised again before John nearly kicked his chair over to tackle him down, pinning him across the length of the couch.

"Ugh!" the blond wheezed under the sudden addition of 125 pounds to his chest.

"Pinned ya!" John grinned down at the blond with a glinting hint of fang.

John's hands held Dave down by the forearms, pushing them down against the soft cushion. The sheet covering his thighs was tugged up high, but the boy didn't seem to notice it, and Dave was not about to bring it to his attention. John's thighs straddled his legs, squeezing down on them from both sides to take away their mobility

Dave's eyes were wide in shock, staring up at his grinning best friend, and then he snorted softly, schooling his expression, "You shit."

Without further warning he rolled them both off the couch, grappling with the smaller boy's kicking and flailing limbs. But John put up a better fight than Dave would have anticipated, ducking and slipping away from each of the Strider's attempts to hold him down. Fuck, who knew Egbert could be this wiry and flexible! Oh fuck, don't think of Egbert being wiry and flexible! Not when he's squirming on top of you.

Dave blamed the distracting thought of John being wiry and flexible on top of him when he found himself flat on his back, arms pinned down on either side of his head, and a certain derp looming over him with a grin yet again.

"Pinned ya again," John said smugly. He was panting for breath, mingling with Dave's above average breathing, and he shifted a little higher to move off Dave's knee where it was pressed a bit to firmly between his legs. Those bright red eyes were staring at him in awe, and he'd like to think he had impressed the great warrior Dave Strider with his own nimble moves, picked up from years of learning how to duck his father's prank attacks.

"They do know how the two characters they're mimicking ended up, right?" Jake stage whispered a hint of amusement in his voice.

John stiffened, remembering suddenly that there were still all the others in the room. He felt a heat rising up his cheeks and could only imagine his face was probably turning completely blue right now all the way up to his ears.

"I think they realize it now," Dirk replied, and his voice was just dripping with the smug look that was surely on his face.

"Least you guys weren't almost a causality. I mean, I'm standing right here," Roxy snickered, standing over the two boys.

John could see it on Dave's face, he had forgotten about everyone else, too. The submissive felt his muscles coil tight, preparing to bolt.

"John, wait!" it was Roxy, "Before he decide to book it, here," the honey blond knelt beside him, nimble fingers working at the knot of the sheet on his shoulder, tightening it again. "You oughta be more careful when ya rough house, one more move and he would have had a wardrobe malfunction. And as perfectly round as your butt appears to be right now, I don't think you'd wanna present it bare for all of us, huh? Least not yet. There." She sat back on her knees, smiling warmly.

John never felt himself blush harder in his life.

But he couldn't run now. He felt oddly subdued as he slipped off of Dave, careful of the bed sheet he had forgotten made up his entire outfit right now, and walked back over to the couch, sitting down quietly. If anyone wondered why he picked the couch instead of taking his seat on the high back chair again, they kept their mouths shut. Silently, Dave sat himself behind him, and John felt his blush renew.

Change the subject now.

"Umm… okay," John stuttered, "so… We have horns and gills so far. Oh, and nails," which really, seemed like the strangest, most innocuous thing to inherit, but it seemed to bother Jake, so John wisely kept his mouth shut about it.

"I suppose it's my turn now, isn't it?" Rose was kind enough to move on from what had just happened, though her smile itself was a reminder of it.

John nodded, glancing over at the only person in the room actually shorter than him. He couldn't see anything telling on Rose right away. She didn't have horns, and while her nails were black, they looked lacquered and glossy like nail polish instead of actual black nails.

The petite blond rose elegantly to her feet, moving to the middle of the seating area that Roxy had made into the stage, "I'm afraid my inheritance is nothing as functional as gills, or as impressive as horns."

"Boo, I think your Change makes you look pretty bad ass, Rose!" Jade cheered encouragingly.

"Thank you," Rose smiled and inclined her head.

She reached into the left side pocket of her skirt and pulled out… a wet nap. John's brows furrowed curiously as she watched Rose rip open the packaging, unfolding the little, wet square into a sheet. She then proceeded to rub the back of her hand with it.

"Um, Rose?" John wasn't sure what the girl was doing, or what it had to do with her Alternian inheritance, as she would put it.

Rose simply held up a finger, motioning him to wait a moment, then held up the back of her hand, which was now painted with a smudge of gray.

No wait… "What…?" It wasn't gray paint on her hand, because the smudge of color on the now used wet nap was actually the pale peach of Rose's skin.

John got back up to his feet slowly, taking Rose's hand when the girl offered it to inspect it more carefully. He ran his thumb along the back of her hand, over the patch of gray. The skin there was a touch softer, a bit smoother than the skin of her arm. He looked up from the hand to Rose's face, crinkled lightly in a smile, back down to her hand, then up again.

"It's… paint…? Your arm, your face…? It's all painted?"

"You would have found out during our voyage out at sea, but I think it's better this way, the way things actually turned out," Rose hummed thoughtfully, her expression turning pensive and a bit far away for a moment, before she focused on John again.

"But… how…?" John breathed softly.

"That's what a troll's skin looks like normally. Rose's skin is tougher than any of ours," Roxy said from where she had taken seat on the high back chair, "Doesn't feel like it, huh?"

"It… it doesn't," John murmured, still marveling over the patch of gray skin.

"It's not much of a defense, I'm afraid, but it's my inheritance," Rose said as she carefully drew her hand out of John's hold. "There are only two of you left to share tonight," she said as she regarded Jake and Dirk.

John's brow's furrowed, "But we already saw Jake's, right? His nails." Was there something else? He scrutinized the older man, trying to find some other oddity he might have missed, but really it could have been anything.

Jake coughed, looking, "John's right, I'm afraid my own Change is rather boring. My nails, on my hands and on my feet. It's really inconvenient, because they keep trying to grow in sharp points and I can't tell you how many socks that's ruined," he blustered out all at once. "Dirk? I do believe it's your turn," the passed the buck to the older Strider.

Said Strider fixed a hard stare on Jake, lips pursed like he was holding back on what he wanted to say until he better thought it out.

There was definitely something more to it, John decided. But it might actually be something really embarrassing. Like something genital related! And John wasn't about to show someone his new anatomy, he wasn't going to embarrass Jake by asking him about the possibility of his changes. Besides, he was sure someone else knew, he could just ask them!

Dirk seemed to decide similarly, because he looked away from Jake and regarded John instead, that indecipherable stare boring into him.

"I don't remember signing up for show and tell."

Oh my god, this asshole!

John rolled his eyes at him, unimpressed, "It could just be that you forgot you did, grandpa."

Roxy snorted softly, "Stop bein a stick in tha mud, Di-Stri. Just show us!"

"You've already seen it," Dirk said to Roxy. "All of you have except the twerp."

"So then it is something you can show without being arrested for public indecency," John exclaimed.

Dirk quirked a brow, "Where is your mind going exactly, kid?"

"That I don't want to risk seeing your flat ass if I can help it," John shot back without missing a beat.

"You seem to be thinking a lot about my backside there," Dirk remarked.

"And to be fair, bro, not everyone can have your plush as fuck ass," Dave added.

John jerked his head to stare at Dave in shock, feeling his cheeks warm, "W-what?"

"Gorgeous," Jake mumbled so quietly he would have been ignored if the room hadn't already been alarmingly quiet.

John turned his shocked stare to the tall guy, feeling his blush intensify, "W-what?!" Was he talking about his ass, too?!

Jake caught himself and his own cheeks flared up green, "N-nothing!"

Beside him, Dirk snorted softly, "Well of we're done here."

"No! I wanna see it, Dirky! Please?" Roxy pouted.

"It is quite the extraordinary sight. I wouldn't mind seeing it again, myself," Jake added.

"I think Bro gets embarrassed by 'em," Dave said, "Even when it's just the two of us back home, he always keeps then put away."

"Please, Dirk? Pretty please? I've only seen them once myself!" Jade pleaded.

John could only glance at each one of them in growing surprise. Was it really something so amazing? He glanced at Dirk for confirmation and only got a smirk on answer.

"I'll show if Egbert asks nicely," he finally decided.

"Johnny!" Roxy turned pleading eyes to John now.

"No way," John huffed.

"John, you have to do it!" Jade exclaimed.

"If you wouldn't mind, John," oh god, even Rose?

"Take one for the team, man," Dave added beside him.

John glanced over incredulously at Dirk. What the hell did he have? And who even cared! It wasn't worth giving that asshole what he wanted. Except... except everyone seemed to think so and now John couldn't help but really be curious about what it was that Dirk was hiding.

Dirk knew it, too, because that Bastard was smiling so smugly at him, brow quirked up expectantly, "What's it gonna be?"

"Jooooohnnnn!" Jade gave him her best puppy dog pout.

Ugh, fuck that asshole Dirk, "Fine." John squared his shoulders, angling himself to better face the blond man sitting across the way, "Dirk, can you show me whatever it is the fuck everyone it talking about? Please?"

"Hmm... I don't know, that didn't seem exceptionally nice to me," Dirk hummed.

"GUH-!" John was about ready to snap at the jerk when Jake playfully shoved said jerk over.

"Strider, stop teasing the poor lad. Just get up and show them already," Jake chuckled softly.

And why wasn't he eager to see whatever it was Dirk had like everyone else, John wondered.

"Fine, okay," Dirk relented getting up to his feet.

"YEEEE!" Roxy squealed, squirming in her own seat.

"This better be good," John mumbled.

"Oh, you'll be left speechless," Dirk smirked and pulled his shirt up over his head. His undid the fly next, shoving his cargo pants down.

"Oh my god! Why do you guys keep getting naked?!" John screeched and covered his eyes automatically.

"What's the matter, short stack? Overwhelmed already?" Dirk taunted.

"You-!" John groused, stopped short by a buzzing flutter. What...?

He opened his eyes just to confirm what his mind was telling him was impossible. But it wasn't. There it was, bright orange catching in the light of the room.  
"Whoa..." it was all he could think to say.

Because Dirk had butterfly wings.

No wait... that wasn't right... they were like... dragonfly wings... No, the way they folded neatly at his back, lined with his legs, it was more like damselfly wings.

"No way..."

"They're just as amazing as I remembered them," Jade breathed out.

Two sets of long, thin wings, starting at his shoulder blades, going down to just above the fold of his knee. The framework and veins were the color of the Strider's eyes, maybe a shade darker, the rest of it a lighter, transluscent orange color. They fluttered in fast short bursts as they undoubtedly enjoyed the rare freedom from their confinement, making a soft whirring noise as they moved against each other, shimmering as the light played over them.

They were... incredible...

John couldn't look away from them, eyes going over from bottom to top, gaze moving upwards. He he faint marks all across his back as well, even going down to the backs of his thighs. At first John thought they were scars, but the more he noticed them, the more he realized they were a patterning of stripes, like a tiger's, so light on his skin they were easily overmissed, Especially due to the fact that DIRK HAD FUCKING WINGS! Try as John might, those fluttering length drew the eye, and his eyes followed their vein work from tip to base, until he caught a hint of molten orange eyes glinting at him from above the rim of Dirk's tipped down shades.

"Like what you see?"

John swallowed hard, looked away, "They're okay," he shrugged.

"How cute! He's being all tsundere!" Roxy teased.

"What's tsundere?" John asked at the exact same time that Dave exclaimed, "No he's not!"

"I used the word right, didn't I Di-Stri?" Roxy looked to the winged blond for confirmation.

Dirk was already slipping his pants back on, keeping his wings tight flat against his back and legs so he could pull them up around them, "Sounds about right to me."

"If it sounds right to you, then I know it has to be wrong," John said, suddenly being defensive.

"One hundred percent tsun-tsun right there," Dirk replied, pulling his shirt back on.

"For fuck's sake, Bro," Dave muttered.

"Ugh, you're such a loser," John rolled his eyes.

"How about you stop teasing the boy for now, Dirk?" Jake asked, motioning for Dirk to join him on the couch again.

"Yeah, fine," Dirk hummed as he slid back into his seat, leaning back on the corner of the couch to regard his friend.

"Dave, what does tsundere mean?" John whispered to his friend while Dirk's attention was being occupied by Jake.

"It's stupid, you wouldn't wanna know," Dave shrugged noncommittally.

"Bluh, you're telling me what it means later!" John stated, too tired to keep arguing about it.

"So is that everything you had to ask, John?" Jade asked with a giggle, changing the subject.

"Umm... I think so...? I can't think of anything else right now anyways, I'm still digesting all this new info," John said thoughtfully. "Is there anything else that I should know?"

"Well, we didn't even breach the topic of Alternian reproduction," Rose stated, "We could-"

"Nope!" John jumped to his feet, moving stiffly, "I think we're done here tonight! I'm feeling really tired! I'm gonna go back to bed!"

"John? You okay?" Jade got up after him, her brow furrowed with worry.

"Yep! Never better! Just tired, and... actually..." John pivoted on his foot to regard the girl, looking her over once. "Is it true you have a dick?"

"WHAT?!" Jade screamed.

"Pffahahahahaha! Holy shit, John! I can't believe you actually asked her!" Dave cracked up.

"DAVE!"

* * *

I told myself that I was going to write shorter chapters. I told myself... OTL And now you know what all the kids have as far as troll genetics go. Or do you? Well obviously, you don't know Jane's... but Jane is still missing! Sorry, I've had a really long day, and I can't brain. If that has affected this chapter... I might fix it... maybe... I hope I would at least.


	11. Tinkerbull And The Big Bad Bec

More explanations and then a bit of fun! And then... a kiss...?

* * *

A comment from Sillydex on AO3 brought to my attention that due to rushing to reach 50k words and just plain forgetfulness, I left out important details in the last two chapters. Namely in the Seagoat attack scene in Chapter 8, and in Dirk's wing reveal in Chapter 9. Both have been fixed. Sorry about that.

* * *

The Mage of Time.  
The Knight of Space.  
The Seer of Hope.  
The Bard of Heart.  
The Witch of Light.  
The Maid of Void.  
The Prince of Breath.  
The Sylph of Life.  
And her son, the Thief of Rage.

These were the former Guardians from nearly two decades ago, long gone and almost forgotten. Except now they were far from forgotten once again. Now they were a threat once again. Long after their deaths, the Guardians still had a final ace up their sleeve. A final play that could very well threaten to unravel years of careful planning and conspiring, one that the Midnight Crew had no way of locating at the moment. And any information that could have helped unearth the true extent of the threat was now gone.

Snowman was not happy with him, her former Draconian Dignitary. But at least her punishment was lenient... this time. Droog could feel the hot trickle of blood down his cheek from where her claws had dug into his face when she had slapped him.

"You had the thief at hand. This mere human man, aged and hidden away for years to be forgotten. The blade of his abilities should have been dull and brittle, easily overpowered by someone of your class. And yet not only did he best you in combat, but he outwitted you enough to slip you a paralytic drug and make away with class six information. Did I miss anything?" most men would cower and quake under Snowman's cold glare.

Droog was smart enough to keep his gaze steady at her throat and not her face, "No, my lady."  
"I expected far better from you," her voice was cold, cutting, more so than her claws.

"Forgive me, my lady. It won't happen again," Droog had nothing to say in his defense. He had messed up, and all for a little bit of pleasure. How would his punishment be different now if that last bit of information had been public knowledge? He wasn't fool enough to want to find out.

"See that it doesn't. Your lapse in judgment has cost us substantially in this power play. I expect you to make up for it. I don't care how. Now get out of my sight. I can't stand to look at you," the former ruler waved a hand dismissively, careless of the drying blood coating her fingertips.

Droog rose gracefully up to his feet and with a final bow of his head, turned on his heels and strode out of the meeting room. His expression was one of careful neutrality, but inside he was seething with anger at himself, at Jason. How could he have let himself get so sloppy over a well fitted suit and a pair of powder blue eyes? Even now if he closed his eyes he could clearly picture Egbert's chiseled jaw, his coyly smiling lips. Ugh, it was infuriating.

"So you fucked up royally just for the chance at a fine piece of ass," Slick slipped in beside him, looking smug. It wasn't often that Diamonds Droog messed up, after all. It was an occasion to enjoy and gloat over

Droog mentally bristled, "Don't be crass."

"Oh ho, so it wasn't Egbert's fine ass, it was his big cock, huh? Junior's all grown up and giving good plowings these, eh? Did you moan like a bitch for it?" It was all Slick could do to move out of the way of the blade now poised against his throat.

"I asked you politely to stop being crass, Slick. I won't ask politely again," Diamonds's voice was dangerously dripping venom over sugar. He drew the knife away from under the shorter man's adam's apple, and in a flick of black light it was gone.

"Touchy," Slick grumbled, rubbing at the small knick on his neck, "I'm just saying, I know you used to have a thing for that guy. I get how you'd want a piece of something for ol' time's sake."

"Slick, I am telling you now, drop it," Droog warned once again.

"Then in the heat of the moment things grt out of control. It happens. Fuck knows how many times that conniving bitch has one upped me using sex as a lure," Slick went on to finish.

"Comparing me to you is hardly a comforting gesture," Droog said with a touch of a smile.

"Yeah, well don't fuck up and I won't have to," Slick shrugged with a roll of his eyes. He reached into his pocket and offered the taller man a handkerchief.

"Dually noted," Droog drolled, taking the cloth and dabbing his cheek with it, staining the white cloth bright red. As red as Jason's shirt collar when he had stained it with blood.

He had to stop thinking about that.

"So where do we go from here?" Slick asked after a moment's silence.

Spades Slick was the leader of their group, and it was a position he had earned by his strength, luck, and sheer force of will. Not to mention that Droog hated being left in positions of power. Too much work. Otherwise there was little doubt in anyone's mind that Snowman would have put Droog in charge of the Midnight Crew instead. But Spades Slick knew the strengths of the men in his group and he knew how to best utilize them, something else that made him a great leader. He knew that Droog was better planned than himself, always had a plan, and a backup plan, and a contingency plan to the backup plan. Droog always knew what they'd have to do next.

"I think it's time we pay the Book Keeper a little visit," Droog stated as he folded up the kerchief into a neat square and slipped it into his pocket.

Slick's eyes widened for a moment, his mouth following, lips pulling up in a feral, sharp grin, "Fuck yes. I'll go put on my good underpants."

Droog snorted softly, nose wrinkling in distaste, "Charming. Don't forget to scrub under your arms as well. You want to appear somewhat clean. I'll go fetch the others, shall I?"

Slick was too far gone on his way to Cloud Nine to care. The Book Keeper had a hot as fuck little assistant, and Slick was determined to get himself some.

* * *

"- where it stores itself away for hygienic purposes. And that, in essence, is the basic anatomical changes for Roxy, Jade, and myself," Rose finished up the long and tiresome lecture to a gaping mouthed John.

"Prehensile." John muttered, letting his voice trail off. His mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that apparently no, Jade did not have a penis, but rather all the girls had something else entirely.

"You get used to the idea," Jade said gently.

"No you don't," besides the submissive, Dave's nose was wrinkled in distaste, as it always was when he had to listen to any of the girls talk about their Changes. Because their junk was weird as fuck, and he didn't want to think about what they could do. "That was some straight out of a bad hentai anime bullshit."

"You'll have to excuse Dave, he had a bad experience with a lake monster when he was fourteen," Dirk swatted his brother's shoulder for once again being inconsiderate to the girls' feelings.

"So many legs. and the suction cups," Dave muttered, hugging his arms around himself.

John made a small alarmed noise, "Tell me they're not being serious!"

"About the hentai monster in the pool at the center of the island? Nah, that's pretty real," Roxy said with a waggle of her eyebrows, "Knows how to treat a lady, too, but it ain't too picky."

"Roxanne, stop teasing the boy, for goodness sake," Jake laughed, "You're just as bad as Dirk."

"Whoa, what? Hey wait a minute, I don't tease the twerp," Dirk defended himself.

Roxy and Jake shared a look, rolling their eyes simultaneously.

"Umm... so... actually I have another question," John asked, turning his attention back to Rose.

"Feel free to ask anything you'd like," Rose replied with a slight nod.

"Okay, so," John pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment, trying to find the most tactful words to string together. After Jade's reaction to his last question, he figured some tact couldn't hurt. "You, and Roxy, and Jade are all dominant troll hybrids, right?"

"That's right," Rose nodded in agreement.

"But you were all born as regular humans, right? Your Change didn't happen until you were all seventeen right?"

"Yes," Rose confirmed again, getting a small inkling about where John was headed with this.

"Well... Does that mean that all your old human bits still work like the used to?" John finally found the nerve to ask.

Rose sighed softly, there it was, "In a way, yes... in the sense that they didn't work the way they were supposed to even before our Change."

"What?"

Rose nodded in confirmation, "I'm sure Dirk has all the official research information-"

"Yo," Dirk raised his hand up

"But to keep matters simple: Even before our seventeenth birthday, if any of us, Roxy, Jade, or myself, tried to engage in sexual intercourse-"

"Rose, ew," John scrunched his nose.

"We would have found that even deliberately unsafe sexual practices would have led to no conception. Even our menses-"

"UUUURGH!" John pulled a face, sticking his tongue out.

"Were frequently irregular. We've never had any eggs in our ovaries, it would have been impossible to get pregnant before our Change and definitely afterwards," Rose finally finished explaining despite all the interruptions.

"Pretty much," Roxy shrugged with a sigh. She huffed and sat back on the couch, moodily crossing one leg over the other. "And yet we still had to suffer for it. All those years dealing with shooting blanks, dealing with the cramps, the bloating, the moodiness-"

"Can you please stop talking about that?!" John whined, covering his ears to no avail.

"All for nothing! I'm telling you, my seventeenth birthday was a blessing, no more dealing with that bullshit!" Roxy nodded firmly.

"I do have to admit that it's nice not having to deal with that," Jade agreed.

"And it's nice not having to deal with you while you deal with it, little sister," Jake smiled serenely, then laughed when he was hit in the face with a pillow, "Hey!"

"You deserved that," Jade stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"Wait…" John's eyes slowly widened with dawning horror, "You don't have to deal with it anymore…"

"I believe that is what we just covered," Rose hummed.

"Because you're dominants and you don't carry babies, but can essentially do the other part of making a baby?" John's voice was getting quieter and squeakier.

"Where is this going, John?" Rose asked delicately, thinking it best for the boy to get to the point before he started to panic himself.

"I just… umm… being the opposite… you know what, never mind!" the submissive cried out, grabbed the nearest pillow and buried his face in it. The tips of his ears were bright blue, and it was safe to assume that the rest of his face had followed suit.

Rose sighed softly, her expression sympathetic, "It's different than how a human would normally experience… that…" trying to explain whether or not John would have to worry about a monthly cycle without saying any possibly triggering words was tricky. But she danced around the words carefully, "More than likely any… rotation that might be followed would likely end in maybe a few days discomfort as the body prepared and then a few other irregular days should preparations not be needed, and the body reabsorbs the nutrients used in preparations instead of expelling them."

John looked shaky where he sat.

"So... what you're telling me is that I'll have to deal with… that… and all along, there was never any chance for me to be a father? Because my parts worked, but they didn't have any ammunition?" John stared down at his hands, curling into tight fists over his lap. "Because I was meant to be this other thing all along. And now... if I ever want to have kids on my own... I'll have to do it like a girl does it?!"

"John," Dave tried to reach over and place a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, not sure what else he could do. But even that much was rebuffed, the small brunette angrily shrugging the hand off.

"I'm sure you must have noticed the changes in your body by now," Rose spoke softly.

"No! I don't want to talk about that!" John shook his head furiously, clapping his hands over his ears.

"Kid, you're going to have to face the facts sooner or later," Dirk sighed, sick and tired of the brat's temper tantrums. "The truth of it was that you never had a prayer of knocking some girl up to spawn a little dork. You could have tried it a million times since the onset of puberty and it never would have happened. That was never in the cards for you, and it sucks that you bet your last buck on it, but you're going to have to get over it and accept that there is in fact still a way for you to get this family you seem so sad to be losing your chance at. The sooner you realize you're not a giver, but a carrier-"

"NO!" John screamed. A whirlwind burst from his very center, knocking everyone away from him, picking up papers and books, paintings falling off the walls, whistling low and loud as it funneled up the chimney, and the windowpanes creaked under the effort to hold together.

It only grew from there.

"John, you have to stop this!" Jade called out over the shriek of wind. She warped herself close enough to hold onto the other boy in the eye of the storm, "Stoppit! Look at me. John, look at me!" despite her harsh tone, needing to be heard over the wind, the lime blooded girl was very gentle as she wiped away translucent blue streaks from John's cheeks. "It's going to be okay, we'll take this as slow as we need to, we understand that you're not ready to talk about it. We were wrong to try to force you."

John hiccupped between a few sobs, eyes opening to stare at Jade with yellow glowing irises that faded back to blue, "I didn't ask for this," he whimpered as he collapsed against her.

Jade wrapped her arms around the smaller boy, sighing softly, "I know, John... None of us asked for this. But... we've all learned to accept that it's what we are, and in time, you'll accept it, too."

The wind died down, dropping everything it had picked up, and letting the others breathe normally once again, gale force winds no longer forcing them down and restraining their lung capacity.

"H-holy schnikes," Roxy gasped, staring at the small boy with a new sense of awe, fear, and respect, "That's a powerful wallop he's packing, huh?"

"I have to admit that it's a lot more impressive in person. And painful," Rose agreed as she sat up and rubbed at her shoulders.

"Try dealing with it for days," Dave groused.

"S-sorry," John mumbled wetly from Jade's shoulder.

"Ah fuck," Dave cursed softly, "I didn't mean it like that, John. I just..."

"N-no... no, I know," John muttered, clinging to Jade tighter at the same time.

"Ssshhh, it's okay, John. You'll get a hang of it. That's part of the reason why we came here."

"Holy flippin shit, do you mean to tell me that this display was just the tip of the iceberg, his untrained ability?"

"Yeah, the twerp's a real show off, huh?" Dirk said as he rubbed gingerly at the back of his head.

"You," Jade pointed accusingly at the winged hybrid, "You're not to push or pick on John anymore, you hear me! Let John accept things at his own pace. It's hard enough already without you forcing him to swallow it all down at once."

Dirk look like he wanted to argue, than thought better of it. "Yeah, maybe I crossed a line."

"Whoa, wait, what? Is the great Dirk Strider admitting he was wrong?" Dave asked in mock awe, earning himself a small giggle from John.

Dirk sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, "I said not to coddle John, but I went from not coddling to being a dick about something he's severely uncomfortable, understated by the way, talking about. And while I still think we can't let him get away with avoiding the subject forever, I get that throwing him into it might not be the best idea, either. I was in the wrong this time, blah, blah, I'm sorry. Can we drop it now?"

"Hmm... I don't know, that didn't seem exceptionally sincere to me," John threw Dirk's earlier words right back at him, sticking his tongue out at him from over his shoulder.

Dirk felt the smallest bit of color touch his cheeks, "Listen here, you little shit," he started but was interrupted by a large, dark hand on his shoulder.

"Easy there, mate. Don't let a little teasing get your bloomers in a bunch," Jake laughed good naturedly and turned the blond man around to face him and not John. "You can't say you didn't have that coming."

"I'm pretty damn sure that I can," Dirk muttered, earning himself another chuckle from his matesprit.

"And you'd be the only one who'd believe it, I'm afraid. Come on," Jake regarded the rest of their group, "I say we move on from this messy subject. Anyone got anymore questions they wanna get answered while we're all here in this little family meeting

"Yeah, I do," Roxy raised her hand up, "If it wasn't trolls after Johnny on his birthday, then who the hell was it? What do they want with our lil' sub?"

All eyes turned to John as the boy detangled himself from the tall girl enough so that he was sitting himself between her legs, Jade's arms refusing to release John from their hold. He had to admit that it was comforting, and Jade was surprisingly warm.

"I... I don't know what they were after, I mean, I don't know what they wanted with me, but they said it was just business on their part."

"We talked that out already," Jade added, "and it seems unlikely that they, whoever they are, were working for or with trolls. Trolls wouldn't want John hurt, and they wouldn't want anyone who used such excessive force. When I got there, they all had guns pointed at John, and at least two of them seemed ready to use them."

John shuddered a little with the memory of it, Jade automatically squeezing her hold on him gently.

"What did they even look like?" Jake leaned forward in his seat.

Dirk got up from his seat next to the taller man and started to thoughtfully pace around the room.

"Ummm... They were dark, like hard to see in the night dark, I'm pretty sure that the only reason I spotted them so easily is because the sun was already rising," Jade recounted. "But I only got a few moments to look at them."

"They're eyes kinda glowed in the dark," John chimed in, "I could see them moving in the dark in my house. They didn't look... something about the way they looked told me that they didn't look human even though they weren't that different from me. Just something... off about them," his brows furrowed thoughtfully. "Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed, "they're teeth were sharp! Like... like shark teeth, but only one row as far as I could see."

He looked around the room at his friends, pensive faces greeting him all around.

"Here," Dirk's voice cut through the growing silence in the room. He held an open laptop screen shaking with a moving image.

"Don't you fucking move, you brat!" a deep, coarse voice shouted, making John jump back against Jade with the memory of its speaker.

There he was on the screen, climbing out John's window and onto the roof, disappearing from view. The three others were left behind, and despite the dim lighting, their features were easily visible, from their dark complexion, the sharp, angular, not quite human features, the pointed ears.

"They're Dökkálfar," Rose breathed in awe, sitting up straighter and leaning forward to get a better look at the screen.

"Do-what?" John glanced away from the screen.

"Shadow demons," Dave supplied.

"Dark elves," Dirk corrected as he stopped the video and shut the laptop. "I should have known."

"Oh," John's brow furrowed. "Wait, how do you even have that video footage?!" he said as he pointed at the closed laptop.

"Lil Seb unit?" Dave asked.

"Lil Seb unit," Dirk confirmed.

"What the hell is a lil Seb unit?" John huffed.

"They're little robotic rabbits Bro builds to snoop on shit. Like little rabbit helpers who really just like to wreck shit and ain't that helpful at all."

"Except this one slowed down three of John's attackers long enough that he could escape and long enough for Jade to find him. You're fucking welcome," Dirk said dryly as he set the laptop aside.

"Oh, uh... Thanks?" John said, and wow that felt so wrong it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The look Dirk gave him confirmed that the oddity of his open gratitude, a brow quirked in his direction.

"So there is a less than two percent chance that I was right about John all along, but you sent a lil Seb unit to spy on John anyways?" Dave asked his brother with a quirked brow.

Dirk shrugged his shoulders in answer, "Better to be safe than to be so= rry."

"Alright, so… these Dowhatsits-"

"Dökkálfar," Rose corrected.

"Dark elves," John gave up, "came to my house and when they couldn't kidnap me, they burned it down. But that doesn't answer why they did it or who they were working for."

Rose shook her head, brow furrowed and lips thoughtfully pursed. "It's rather surprising, to say the least. Their kind were wiped out to near extinction over a century ago, and it's rumored that only small pockets of them live here and there around the world. Apparently we found a group of them that have made themselves muscle for hire. But I'm afraid short of capturing one of them and interrogating them, there is no way we can find out what they wanted John for. Or rather, what the one who hired them wants with John."

They fell into a thoughtful silence, each trying to think of any possibility anyone would want to kidnap a submissive troll hybrid.

"There's too many wild possibilities with as little information as we have," Dirk concluded for them, "For all we know, John's genetic inheritance may have absolutely nothing to do with it, and the fact that it was his seventeenth birthday could have just been acoincidence."

John sighed, because Dirk was right again, and everything was frustrating.

"Well then, we can set that aside for later and talk about something else?" Jade asked, peering around at the others.

"What else is there to talk about?" Jake inquired.

"Well… we haven't even touched down on the subject of Alternian courting and romantic rituals at all," Rose said thoughtfully.

"Oh god, no," Dave looked aghast, "I think we've stuffed John's head with enough information for one day. I've known about that shit for years and I'm still getting the hang of it."

John looked at his best friend in curious confusion, "It can't really be that complicated, can it?"

Dave took hold of John's shoulders, angling the boy so that they were staring at each other's eyes, "Believe me, John. It can be, and it is, and you'll thank me for saving you from it for at least one more day."

"Dave, you're overreacting," Jade rolled her eyes.

"Am I, Harely? Am I really?" the blonde fixed the long haired girl with a dead even stare.

"A little," Rose answered with a smile, "But perhaps you're right anyways. John shouldn't be worried about romantic entanglements right now, anyways. He has enough on his plate," she gave Dave a significant look as she said this.

Dave quirked a brow, "Yeah, I gotta agree with you there."

"Good, then why don't we all have dinner? I'm sure I'm not the only one starving, especially at this late hour"

"Oh my god, I'm dying of hunger, you guys!" John groaned, slipping out of Jade's hold at last and getting up to his feet.

Jade got up after him, "I am kinda hungry, too now that you mention it. The kitchen and dining room are this way, c'mon, follow me." She led the way, the rest of the group shuffling behind her.

"Hey Jade, you think my shades have sunk low enough by now that they've stopped moving and you'd be able to locate them and bring them back?" Dave asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets like he couldn't care less either way.

"Well I can try," Jade hummed thoughtfully. "If nothing else it'll be a challenge to see if I can locate something that small and that far away and bring them to me."

"That's so cool," John bounced excitedly, "How do you get control of your powers like that?"

"Lots of practice, mostly. Don't worry John, you'll have your chance to perfect your skills, too. And the island is just the place to do it!" Jade beamed.

"Hey Davey, if Jade can't manage it, maybe I can summon up a pair!" Roxy chimed in.

"Aren't your powers still 50/50 success rate? I don't want you to accidentally summon up a creature from one of Rose's books," Dave regarded the honey blond skeptically.

"That has actually never happened! And I've been getting better, you shouldn't listen to Rose!" Roxy pouted.

"Either way, there's no real guarantee that what you'll summon will be my shades or just a duplicate pair," Dave said like it settled the matter, ignoring Roxy's sulking

"What difference does it make?" Jake asked curiously.

"Well, see, my best bro gave me those shades that I lost out at sea, they hold a lot of sentimental value."

"Aww, Dave!" John gushed playfully, cupping his cheeks in a show of fake blushing, "Stop it, people will start talking!"

"I can't take the lying anymore, John. I don't care who knows!" Dave grabbed the smaller boy by the wrist and pulled him in, catching him at the waist to dip him low.

"Oh, Mr. Strider!" John made a show of swooning.

"Eeee! I totally ship it!" Roxy squealed.

"You guys are so gay," Jade laughed as she bumped Dave's shoulder hard enough to make him drop John.

"Ow!" John yelped, the smile never running away from his face.

"Shit, sorry bro. Earthquake Harley rolled on in, natural disaster, couldn't be helped.

"Excuse you, Slippery fingers Strider," Jade rolled her eyes and tossed her hair, "but there is nothing disastrous about me. You might want to get your eyes checked."

"I'm okay," John said, struggling back his feet with Dave's help, "Hehe, so Roxy has powers, too?"

"We all do!" Jade chirped excitably, "It's actually not that uncommon for a troll to be gifted with a special power."

"Usually they're mental gifts, like telepathy, telekinesis, and what not," Jake added in, his voice not quite as excited as his sister's. "But I'm guessing that our hybridness made for some spectacularly queer abilities."

"Like what?" John asked, wide eyed and bushy-tailed.

"Well, you already know that I can manipulate the space around me, displace it to summon things or send them away. I can move myself and anyone I choose, within reason, the same way. Oh! But what you haven't seen is that I can manipulate the amount of space something takes up."

"Is that a slightly more scientific way of saying that you can make things grow or shrink?" John rolled his eyes.

"Only slightly more," Jade nodded seriously.

"Cool! Do you think you can make Dirk a foot tall?"

"I can still kick your ass at a foot tall, kid," Dirk remarked from the back of the group.

"Says you," John waved him away dismissively, "So then, Roxy's powers are like yours?"

"Actually Roxy's power is very different from mine. Hers is a gift of void."

"Void?" John asked skeptically. What sort of power is void?

"It's pretty nifty, actually. I can make myself go invisible!" Roxy said holding up a pair of jazz hands.

"Whoa, really?" John asked

"Yep! I've been working to make things other than just me invisible, but it's a work in progress. And sorta like Jade, but completely different, I can make stuff appear out of thin air."

"How is it different?" John asked, head tilted puppyishly to one side.

"Hmm... well... how do I explain this...?" Roxy tapped a finger to her lip, looking upward thoughtfully.

"She doesn't move something from one place to another, she takes the void away from nothing to make something," Jake said in a way that sounded like it was frequently recited.

"... She... what...?" John was perplexed, "That doesn't make sense. You can't make something out of nothing. That... that's against... science!"

"Roxy can" Dave said with a shrug, "If only she knew how to control it."

"I'm getting better at it!" Roxy stuck her tongue out at Dave like the mature young woman she was.

"Why? What happens when she doesn't control it?" John asked, glancing between the two blondes.

"She'll make generic objects or sometimes a mutated bastard offspring of what she was trying to create and a random thought that flitted through her mind when she was trying to make it. You should have seen the time she tried to summon a jetpack. Somehow it appeared melted around a potted plant."

"I got it right eventually!" Roxy said defensively.

"You have a jet pack?" John asked, breath catching.

"Uh, no... I have a potted plant," Roxy smiled sheepishly.

* * *

"I don't think they're that bad," Roxy defended with a laugh as she held up her creation. "They're the right shape and everything!"

Snickering, John snatched away the pink rimmed, rose tinted aviators, putting them on and pouting his lips, "I agree, and I think these are totally Dave's color, too."

"They look good on you, at least. I think I'll keep mine, though" Dave snorted softly in answer as he possessively tapped his fingers to the rim of his resummoned shades.

"You're welcome, by the way," Jade stuck her tongue out at him.

"So then I can keep these babies all for myself?" Roxy took the pink rimmed shades back from John.

"Be my fucking guest," Dave waved his hand dismissively.

"Sweet, I'm an honorary Strider!" Roxy beamed.

"Not that easy, Ro-Lal," Dirk said as he leaned forward on the table, regarding the honey blond.

"Can't be that hard if you can do it," Roxy smiled sweetly.

"Ha!" John barked out a laugh.

They'd been bantering back and forth, teasing and laughing throughout the preparation and consumption of dinner. They didn't worry about dark attackers and changed lives. It was light and fun, and John didn't think he'd breathed this easy since the day before his birthday.

"Okay, so let me so if I got this all right," John waved his licked clean spoon like a conductor's baton, pointing to each of his friends in turn, "Jade can manipulate space."

"You got it," Jade winked.

"Dave is a time traveler."

"Not= exactly, but close enough," Dave shrugged.

"Rose has precognitive powers...?"

"I can see certain things that will transpire based on the actions people take, yes," Rose nodded.

"In other words, Rose's power is being a know it all, which she was before she ever changed," Dave snorted.

"Just because I know more than you, doesn't mean I know all, Dave. But then if you weren't so ill-educated, you'd know that," Rose hummed quietly.

"Burned," Dirk smirked and offered a fist to the petite blond, which she gladly bumped.

John was biting back a laugh himself, "Can't say you didn't walk right into that one, buddy!" He patted the platinum blonde on the back.

Dave mumbled something along the lines of snarky broads and their uppity horse shit, but he went on ignored.

"Okay, umm... Roxy can turn invisible and make things out of nothing," John went on.

"Yep!" Roxy grinned with cocking twin pistol fingers.

"Umm... Jake's power... Okay, sorry, but I don't think I get what Jake's power is."

"Jake's ability is in its rough stages, but essentially, if he wills events to go certain ways, depending on the strength behind his will, those events will go his way. Basically, his is the power of hope." Rose explained.

Jake's cheeks stained dark green, "I usually make a right mess of it, though."

"You'll get it, Jake. Don't worry so much about it," Jade patted her brother on the shoulder.

"I think it sounds like a really useful power once you get the hang of it," John added with a smile.

Jake only flustered more, which John found odd. He couldn't really pin down where Jake was coming from. Online they chatted amicably, their first meeting (that he could recall) he was icy, and now he was acting really embarrassed and shy?

"Uh," John tried to move on, because he didn't know how to react to Jake's weird reaction, "And Dirk..." he regarded the sunny blonde, "Dirk's ability is to be the most useless Planeteer to ever Planeteer."

"Like you're one to talk, air head," Dirk quipped back, brow quirked, a hint of a smirk just tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Nope! We're not doing this. Putting a stop to it right the fuck now," Dave physically got between John and his own brother, glaring the latter down.

"Dave, what the hell?" John asked, peering over his shoulder.

"It appears that I'm not even allowed to teach this kid what witty banter is all about," Dirk mused.

"The only thing you can teach me about witty banter is how not to do it!" John groused, nearly climbing over Dave's shoulder to get to the older blond.

"Nah, this isn't happening," Dave caught John by his middle and eased the little submissive off his back.

"I agree with Davey, we could be here all night watching you and John have a sass off, Di-Stri. I'm getting kinda tired," Roxy made a show of yawning.

"Yes, I believe we've all had a long day," Rose agreed.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired myself," Jade hummed.

Just as she said it, the room filled with a flash of bright green light, a large white dog standing by the girl a second later.

"Holy shit," John yelped and stumbled out of his chair and away from Jade, and more importantly, the space warping super dog that had dumped him and Dave in the middle of the freezing ocean!

Bec's ears swiveled up, his attention on the submissive just when he wanted it the least. In another flash, the dog was before John again. He felt his breath catch in his throat and he did his best impression of a living statue, just like everyone else in the room.

"Uh..."

"Just let him get your scent, John," Jade said quietly.

Bec leaned in, sniffing at the boy's stomach, then up, snuffling against his chest, then using large paws to climb up the short length that he didn't reach, hot breath puffing over John's face, up to his hair, the soft, ticklish strands causing the strange dog to sneeze, a fine mist covering John's face.

"Eugh..." he still didn't dare move, though.

The super dog seemed satisfied, because with a wet slurp of his tongue over John's face, the hopped back down, tail wagging.

"Awww! He likes you, John! Bec usually don't really care for most people," Jade cooed as she walked up to her dog and slipped down to her knees to hug it around its neck.

"Lucky me," John grumbled as he grabbed a napkin to wipe his face clean.

"Could've been worse," Dave said with a pat on the small brunette's shoulder.

Bec growled, baring sharp fangs at the younger Strider.

"You could be me," Dave muttered and took a step back slowly, hands held up defenselessly.

"Bec doesn't like Dave?" John asked, eyes wide, glancing between the white dog and the white blond.

"Bec hates Dave, really," Jade sighed, stroking the dog's ears. "It's a long story."

The dog grumbled, licking the tall girl's cheek.

Jade sighed, "Just a little while longer, I wanna talk with my friends."

Bec growled and barked once.

Jade pouted, "Bec, I'm not a little girl anymore! I can stay up as late as I want!" She got up to her feet and dusted her knees off, "Forget going to sleep, whose up for a movie?" she asked brightly.

"Umm... me, I'll watch a movie with you," John offered, though he looked unsure. Was Jade really having an argument with a dog? A super dog, but none the less, a dog.

"Count me in," Dave shrugged.

"Great! We can watch Kick Ass or something!" Jade said, but the moment she took a step away from Bec, the dog flashed her right back to his side.

Jade blinked momentarily disoriented, "Bec! I'm not going to bed! I'm going to watch a movie with my friends, and you can't stop me!" She marched away from the dog, only to end up right beside him again, "Oooh! You stubborn, old dog!"

In a flash of green, Jade was gone. And then in another flash she was back.

"Bec, stop! You're embarrassing me in front of my-!"

FLASH. Gone

FLASH! Back.

"Bec!"

FLASH.

FLASH!

"Bec, I'm not a puppy anymore, you can't-!"

FLASH

"Did she just call herself a..." John whispered to Dave.

FLASH!

"Man, don't get involved and don't draw attention to yourself," his best friend whispered back as the dining room became a light show of neon green.

"UGH! Looks like I can't get out of this o-"

FLASH.

FLASH!

"Jake, can you-"

FLASH.

FLASH!

"show Dave his room, I didn't get a chance to-"

FLASH.

FLASH!

"do it earlier," Jade managed to say between her rapid disappearing and reappearing act.

FLASH.

FLASH!

"Don't worry about it."

FLASH.

FLASH!

"I'll take care of-"

FLASH.

FLASH!

"it," Jake reassured in between, trying hard not to laugh.

"Okay, well sorry about Bec you guys. I'll see you all tomorrow," Jade smiled sheepishly. "Good-"

FLASH.

FLASH!

"Rude, Bec! Good night!"

And with a final flash, Jade was gone, the space dog disappearing himself shortly after.

"Did that... really just happen?" John asked incredulously as he rubbed away the last spots dancing in front of his eyes.

"I'm afraid Becquerel is really adamant about Jade getting her proper rest. She's still a growing young lady after all," Jake hummed as he started to pick up all the dinner plates in a stack, disappearing with them into the kitchen.

"So that dog is Jade's guardian? What did you call them before?" the submissive tried to think back.

"Creatures like Bec are called lusus," Rose was quick with a response. "A whole variety of them live here on the island and Alternians used them to raise their young before there reproductions methods changed. Now they grow wild on this island."

"They just abandoned them after all the help they gave them just because they didn't need them anymore?" John asked, feeling a swell of sudden pity for the super powerful dog.

"It appears that way, yes."

"Wait... Was that giant sea monster that attacked us a lusus thing?" John suddenly asked.

"The sea goat? Yeah, that's one of the bigger lusus creatures," Dave confirmed, "Some of them can be pretty feral."

"So it was a sea goat that attacked you. I thought it might have been a flying whale," Jake said as he say back down at the table.

"A what?!" John yelped.

"We'll have to give you a crash course on the most common types of lusii that you'll find here. Not to mention which are relatively friendly and which you should avoid. For now I'm just waiting for the next wave..." Jake glanced at the doorway.

"The next wave of what?" John titled his head to the side curiously.

"Well Bec and Jade made quite a show of teenage rebellion over bedtime, I'd be very surprised if they didn't make an appearance tonight," Jake explained a bit cryptically.

"Ah fuck, you're a grown ass man, Jake. Don't tell me they still-" Dirk started, then stopped as the buzzing sound of hundreds of wings beating rapidly sounded down the hall. "Hell," he muttered.

Before John could ask again, a white swarm flooded the room, filling the empty spaces with the sounds of fluttering wings and the oddest little sound that was a combination of a moo and a kitten's meow.

They were cat sized, skinny, little bulls with little bug like wings. A whole mess of them! They circled the dining room once before the majority of them zeroed in on Jake and surrounded him, covering almost every last inch of his body in little fairy bulls. They trilled and nuzzled into the man so forcefully, John was sure they would have knocked him over if they had simply picked a common side to attack from.

The few weren't cocooning Jake flittered about the dining room, excitedly studying and inspecting their new guests.

"How do you do?" Rose inclined her head politely to the one currently sniffing her hair. It snorted into the fine, ash blonde locks, and shook itself away from the ticklish strands. "A bit under the weather, you say? I do hope it's nothing serious," the petite girl stroked long, elegant fingers lightly over the little bull's face, up to its ear, which flicked away from the ticklish sensation.

"I finally get to see your lusii in person, Jake! They're so much cuter in person!" Roxy cooed at the one that had made itself at home on her lap. "Yes you are. Yes you are! Who is the cutest little tinkerbull in the whole wide world? It's you, yes it is!"

When one approached John all he could do was stare back at it. Apparently eye-less-ness wasn't a common theme with all the lusii, though he wasn't sure if the milky white eyes staring at him were all that much better to look at. Still... it was kind of cute... in a living, breathing plush toy sort of way. Like the island of misfit toys sort of way.

"Um... hi..." he said as politely as he could utter a single word.

The fairy bull mewed, it fucking mewed up at him and then proceeded to nuzzle his chest.

It wasn't as soft as its size and appearance led one to believe. Its horns were solid and would thunk against John's ribs one side then the other with each turn of its little head, but it trilled, almost like a purr and it was just so damn affectionate, John couldn't bring himself to complain. his hand circled around the thing, not quite touching it, not quite sure he knew how, but then it flittered away.

"Oh hey, where you going?"

It went where all the other little bulls not smothering Jake were going, to flit and flitter about Dirk in fast zigzags and spirals. With bumps from their heads and threatening with their sharp little horns, they were corralling the older Strider back and away from their ward.

"Little fuckers," Dirk murmured as one snapped it's flat teeth in his face, and he responded by flicking it's nose.

The little bull screeched and flicked away, back over to Jake where it keened for attention.

"Strider, that wasn't very nice of you. Don't pick on poor Merryweather," Jake chastised, plucking the little bull out of the air and rubbing its belly.

"It started it, I'm merely defending my personal space," you could practically hear the eyeroll in Dirk's voice.

"You know they're just overprotective. All you're doing is validating their need to get between us," Jake sighed.

"Wait... all of them are you... lusii...?" John asked as he approached the squirming white swarm surrounding Jake.

With very careful movements, Jake detached himself from the living wall of fairy bulls. "Yeah, I didn't get here to this confounded island until I was nearly six. As our striking Ms. Rose Lalonde has taught me, lusus usually pick their wards younger than that, Jade was just reaching a year and she already had Bec. But my grandma died shortly after that, along with Jade's grandfather."

That's right, John thought sadly, out of everyone here, he was the only one who had a living parent right now, even if he couldn't get a hold of his dad at all. He had grown up pretty lucky compared to the rest of them, sheltered, pampered. It was... almost cruel, maybe... the way he'd talk about his dad, complain about him to his friends without even so much as considering that his dad was something he had that they didn't.

Jake noticed the pitying look the submissive was giving him, and he felt a small flare of heat warm his cheeks, "Now, now. None of those scandalous stares from you, Mr. Egbert. Turn their pitying peepers elsewhere."

John's brows furrowed in confusion. Scandalous? What? It was official, Jake was weird.

"Despite everything, Jade and I did pretty well for ourselves. Sure, we were just lil tykes when we were left alone, but we're here, aren't we? I did my best to be a good big brother for Jade, but I have to say that I'll always be thankful for Bec. And when the fairy bulls decided to foster me, well... it made things easier all around. They're really something, huh?"

"Yeah," John nodded looking at the flittering fairy bulls with new found respect, "They really are."

"And now that they're here, I know what they're after. Jade has been setenced a bedtime, and now I'm afraid it's my turn as well. These little guys always did take their cues from that blasted dog," Jake sighed, "No use putting up a whole to do about it. I am pretty knackered. Dave, I take you remember the room we gave you to use last time you came for a visit?"

Dave nodded, "Yeah, I can find my way."

"Aces, I'll be bidding you all goodnight, then. Guess that makes me and Jade bad hosts, but what can you do when your parents tell you to go to bed?"

"Don't worry about it, Jakey. We're all about ready to turn in anyways, right lil sis?"

"It is getting pretty late," Rose agreed.

The fairy bulls picked up their cue then, swarming around the tall man to escort him out of the dining room in a flurry shield of adorable.

"Hang on, I'll go with you," Dirk took quick strides to catch up to the tall brunette. Instantly he was shielding hi face from a dozen dive bombing, miniature, flying bulls. "Ah, fuck. Jake, call them off."

"They don't listen to me when it comes to you, I'm afraid," Jake glanced over his shoulder, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

John snickered, Jake may be weird, but he was a likeable sort of guy. At least when he was giving Dirk a hard time.

"C'mon, Egbert. I'll escort you back to your room," Dave suddenly nudged his shoulder.

John scoffed softly, "Excuse you, I don't need to be escorted around like some sissy debutante that gets spooked by her own shadow on a dark night."

Dave simply quirked a brow at him, "So you know you way back up to your room, then?"

"..." John's lips parted to retort, then shut into a sulk, "Just show me the way, asshole."

"Whatever you say, dweeb," Dave smirked.

* * *

Of course there was too much to see and do to simply take John straight back to his room. And while Dave had seen most of it before, it was all new for the small brunette. He seemed fascinated by it all, too, and the blond just didn't have the heart to urge him along from one thing to another just because he hadn't caught his second wind.

John had had a few rough days, let him have his fun where he could find it. It was inevitable that they got side tracked. They had been lucky to be able to tear themselves away from all the different rooms this towered mansion had to offer long enough to make it to the living room and all their waiting friends in any semblance of 'on time.'

The trek back to John's room wasn't anywhere near as expeditious. They had especially spent a great deal of time in this latest room, playing light and sound games, climbing nets and oversized play places like they were nine years old again. Dave found it hard to imagine that John didn't feel just as sore all over as he did, if not more. But if the submissive could push past the discomforts of his body to act like a monkey and hang upside down from a netted jungle gym, he wasn't about to be left behind. John's smile, his laugh, in person was way too incapacitating for Dave to do more than follow the smaller boy to his own doom.

"Where do you think Jade and Jake got all these things?" John asked as his hands slid over the smooth surface of the industrial sized plasma ball, streams of electrical light following his fingertips, feeling the energy of it tingle all the way to the tips of his ears. He didn't have to even catch his reflection on the glass to know his hair was standing on end.

"My guess is most of this stuff predates them," Dave said as he created his greatest work of art on the wall of lite-brite colored pegs. "Like their grandparents were preparing to mold their young minds to an extreme level."

"I'd believe it," John hummed, abandoning the plasma ball to create his own colorfully lit work of art besides the blond. He hogged most of the green pegs. "So why does Bec hate you?" he suddenly asked. There was a story behind it, Jade had said so, and John wanted to know what it was.

Dave's shoulder tensed for a moment, hand stilling in mid air, clutching a blue peg. He sighed and let his shoulders drop, "Yeah... It's been long enough now, I guess. See... Jade and I dated a while ago..."

"What?! You did?! When?!" John asked, flabbergasted. He had had no idea! How could his friends have a relationship with each other without him knowing? And did anyone else know? Was he the only one out of the loop?

"Yeah... for a year... Like two or three years ago. It didn't end all that great... I turned into a real asshole towards the end there. And even though Jade has forgiven me, her doggy daddy hasn't"

"I... wow, I... I never would have guessed that," John flustered, feeling something odd twist in his stomach.

"Yeah... It's not a big deal anymore, Jade and I have gone back to just being total bros, but I doubt that dog is ever going to like me, even if and when Jade finds herself the love of her life. So I just try to stay out of its way."

"That... sucks... sorry," John mumbled, not sure what else he could say. 'I'm glad you didn't ruin the dynamic of our friendship circle'? Relationships failed all the time, it wasn't Dave's fault. And if things were fine now, why point fingers at all?

Dave shrugged and kept working on his lite-brite masterpiece. John wanted to ask why things hadn't worked out between him and Jade, he always thought that they got along so well before. But... the words stuck themselves painfully to his throat, forming a large lump of 'I don't want to think about it.'

An awkward silence grew between then as they continued their art projects, John creating a slipshod version of the green slime ghost that used to be on most of his shirts, and Dave an admittedly remarkable rendition of his two most popular internet characters, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff.

John had tried many times to start light conversation with his friend again, but he didn't know where he could even begin. Words ran from him when he tried to pick them out. Dave looked like he was feeling pretty awkward as well. He had to say something! Anything!

"Hey Dave?"

"Yeah?" the blond responded, glancing over.

"I... umm... I just wanted to say... umm, you know... thanks again for saving my life... you know... multiple times today," John scuffed his foot on the floor sheepishly.

"Technically yesterday," Dave's lips tugged up in a small smile, "you caught up with me now past boy."

John smiled brightly, laughing softly, "I guess I did, but still! Thank you!"

"Don't even worry about it, you would've done the same for me."

He would have, John realized. To save his best friend he would have jumped into the fray of a monster attack without hesitation, would have sealed his lips over Dave's to breathe life back into his lungs without a second's worry of what it might look like to those outside looking in. Because Dave was his best friend and he'd didn't want to imagine a life without him.

"But, umm... in the water... a noticed something right before I passed out. You had... these three slashes on your back, and I was worried that it had seriously hurt you. I completely forgot to ask about that earlier, too. You're not hurt, are you?" John wrung his hands nervously. But now that he had seen Dirk's marks, he was a bit less worried about Dave being injured, especially since the blond wasn't really acting all the injured.

"Pfff, that? Nah, those are just my marks, like your spots," Dave demonstrated, presenting his back to John and lifting his shirt up.

"Whoa," John breathed out.

Three long stripes painted Dave's pack, looking like tanned scars, only smoother. The outer stripes curved gently outward, the tips nearly joined at their ends. They were surrounded by a smattering of solid spots that looked like large freckles going in an triangle down to the small of his back. They looked like...

"A cheetah," John breathed out. Dave's markings looked like that of a cheetah.

He traced the stripes with his fingers from shoulders to the small of his back, not missing how it made Dave shiver. With a blush, he let his hand drop away.

"Sorry."

Wow! What was he doing?! Touching Dave's back and his heart had skipped a beat at the sight of his spots! What was wrong with him?

Now Dave was looking at him oddly.

"I... I, uh... I'm just glad you're not hurt!" the submissive blurted out, looking around him wildly for a distraction, and in this room full of playfully fun things to do, he found none. And now because of his stupid blurting, he had the blonde's full attention, like he was waiting for him to continue. Fuck... fuck!

"Because those marked looked pretty horrible... I... I mean, when I thought they were wounds! Not that I think they look bad now! I actually think they look pretty... amazing," the last word was breathed out.

No, wait... that was even weirder! What are you doing?!

"I mean, because your markings are a bit complex, you know? Mine are just... like leopard spots and you have spots and stripes... kinda like a cheetah. And they suit you, because you're fast... like a cheetah."

Wow, that was so stupid!

"Like the way you moved fast underwater!" Oh god, why couldn't he shut up? "I swear it looked like you were in two completely different places in the blink of an eye. Oh... wait, you have time powers right? Did you use your time powers then? That's really useful. I don't think I'd ever be able to learn how to use my own abilities like that so that they're useful," the word vomit would not stop.

"I wish I had different powers, actually... maybe time powers would be better... not that I think I'd be better at time powers than you, I think you're probably really good with them? Only... well I haven't really seen you use it much, and I...!"

John stopped short, eyes widening. When had Dave gotten this close? It felt like the blond was towering over him.

"D-dave...?" John hated the way his voice cracked.

"Just... shut up, Egbert..." Dave mumbled, leaning down.

Dave's lips were warm against his own, all of him radiated heat, really. And his lips were surprisingly soft, too, just a little bit chapped. They moved, molding, urging him to move with them,= it was... pudding skin and tingling warmth and it wasn't bad, really... actually it was... it was pretty okay...

With a soft little sound like a trill John leaned in closer, pressing more insistently against Dave's lips. Heavy hands were suddnely gripping him tight, pulling him closer, surrounding him in warmth. It was dizzy and nice and it was so easy to just... melt into it... Melt into Dave...

Into... against... Dave...

Dave...

...

Oh fuck! It was Dave!

His insides froze, turning his muscles into ramrod steel. He drew back with a sudden breath, eyes wide, staring at their shocked reflection twofold in Dave's aviators. He could just make out the shape of Dave's eye past them this close up, and the blond looked almost as shocked as he felt.

It wasn't as if the fact that he was kissing Dave was that big of a shock. It hadn't been a sneak attack, he had seen Dave move in for the kill. He had let him... he had reciprocated...

It was as if for that split moment he had just forgotten it was wrong. Dave was his best friend! And a boy! But... not his boyfriend! John wasn't gay!

'It's not really gay anymore when you're not really a boy,' a small voice whispered in the back of his mind, but he told that voice to shut up, we weren't thinking about this!

"I..." he started in a small voice, backing up a few steps.

Dave had been so warm, John had felt warm close to him, but now all he felt was cold from his core radiating out.

"John...?" Dave's voice was so small... so insecure...

John's heart twisted.

"I... I have to go!" he couldn't think about it, didn't know what he wanted to think about it, didn't know what to think at all... so he ran. He turned tail and ran right out of the room, leaving Dave behind.

It took him him a near half hour to find his room again in the maze of a home, but the moment he did he dove into the bed, crawling under the comforter and willing himself to sleep so that he didn't have to think.

* * *

TG: rose  
TG: rose i fucked up  
TG: i fucked up so bad fuck me what do i do now  
TG: what if he never talks to me again  
TG: what if he just goes on the rest of his life pretending that im invisible and mute  
TG: what the fuck do i do now  
TG: how do i make it right  
TT: I see you didn't heed my advice at all.  
TG: fuck  
TG: he was there and i was there  
TG: and he was going on about who knows what  
TG: going on and on like so much adorable kissable word vomit  
TG: and he was blushing and fidgeting and looking up at me with those resolve crumbling eyes  
TT: Oh, Dave...  
TG: dont oh dave me lalonde!  
TG: i kissed john and he ran the fuck away  
TG: what do i do  
TT: I'm sure it was a real siren's call, but couldn't you have resisted?  
TG: you dont understand rose  
TG: he touched my stripes  
TG: his naked fingers on my naked back  
TT: Oh, well why didn't you say that to begin with?  
TT: I'm surprised you didn't soil your pants and propose marriage right then and there.  
TG: you say that like i almost didnt  
TG: fuck  
TG: fuck me im such a fuck head  
TG: i let him just ollie the fuck outie too  
TG: shouldve stopped him  
TG: explained shit  
TT: Explained what, exactly?  
TG: i dont know but i should go chase him down now  
TG: its not like i have no idea where he went  
TT: I'd advise against that.  
TG: of course you would  
TT: You confused him.  
TT: Life has already taken everything he thought he knew and understood and ripped it right out from under him.  
TT: All you did was add another straw to the already knee buckling camel carrying quite a hefty load.  
TT: The worst thing you can do is add more than you already have.  
TT: He needs to sort some thoughts out on his own.  
TT: Leav=e him be for now and he might just come t you himself  
TG: i dont know about this  
TT: Trust me.

* * *

GG: hes not online :(  
GG: but he is back in his room  
GG: maybe i should go see him!  
TT: I don't think that's for the best.  
TT: The last thing John needs is for him to know that we already know something he'd much rather keep to himself for now.  
TT: Talking to him now would only make him draw deeper into himself and away from us.  
GG: UGH! BOYS!  
GG: theyre so needlessly complicated :\  
TT: Indeed.  
GG: so what do we do?  
GG: we cant just leave him by himself!  
TT: I actually think that's our best course of action.  
TT: When John is ready to face us, he'll notice the computer you left for him in his room, and he'll talk to us then.  
GG: you think so?  
TT: I know so.

* * *

TG: hey  
TG: look i  
TG: it was all a joke  
TG: ha ha fucking hilarious right?  
TG: got the prankster prince good  
TG: the king is dead long live the king  
TG: in on conclusion  
TG: hehe that was so funny  
TG: dave you are hilarious well played  
TG: so just  
TG: dont think too much about it  
TG: no  
TG: wait  
TG: fuck it  
TG: i messed up im sorry  
TG: can we just  
TG: i dont know  
TG: pretend it never happened  
TG: im game if you are  
TG: ugh  
TG: im just  
TG: sorry  
- turntechGodhead [ TG ] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [ EB ] at 03:18 -

* * *

Oooh boy, this chapter is over 10k words... I am getting worse and worse about this making shorter chapters thing. This one is just short of being 11k words _ Dökkálfar and their counter parts, Ljósálfar (guess who they'll be), are based on Norse mythology, just like trolls, and I thought it suited the Dersites and Propitians rather well. You'll find that I'll be doing that time and again in this story, incorporating Homestuck characters with earth myth to fit into the story. So for all you mythology buffs out there, I'm sorry, but I'll be taking a lot of creative freedom when I write about any mythological race. There were more things I wanted to explain, but I forgot what they were... _ I hope you enjoy this extra long chapters, and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment! I'm pretty good at responding to comments. Reviews are nice, too. Just saying. 9v9


	12. Guns, Quadrants, and Voyeurism

John wakes up to discover a few extra changes he hadn't noticed before. He to realize that he can't ignore what happened with Dave the night before, either. He doesn't want to lose his best friend to an awkward situation, but he doesn't know how to act around him now. He learns a few things while he tries to figure it out, including how to shoot a gun, 2 out of 4 quadrants, and that he might be a bit of a voyeur.

* * *

Late morning light streamed in through the window at such an angle that the concentrated ray or light hit John square in the face. He didn't appreciate it. He had spent a greater part of his night trying to mentally outrun his thoughts just so he could sleep. He didn't feel particularly happy with the sun for taking his just achieved accomplishment away from him.

He pulled the covers up over his head to hide away from the incessant sun, but his thoughts had already awoken once again, nagging at him. Memories of soft lips and warm skin and sure hands spreading tingles down his spine. Of fine strands of blond hair and pale skin, striped, spotted, toned. Of the scent of apple cinnamon and- no! No and! And nothing!

"Uuuuurgh!" John screamed into his pillow in frustration.

Stupid Dave! Stupid Strider with his stupid, warm lips and stupid, hot mouth and his stupid, dumb ideas, thinking that kissing his best friend was at all a good idea! But...

Hadn't he kissed Dave first? Granted he was drowning, oxygen deprived and had the crazy thought in his head that Dave had been a mermaid. But how was the blond supposed to know what was going on in John's mind at the time? Oh god... was all of this his fault for leading Dave on? For never apologizing for the misunderstanding? John slowly sat up in bed as revelation hit him. This was his fault... or at least he hadn't been blameless.

He... he should go apologize to Dave... maybe talk it out... But he didn't want to! Just the thought of seeing the younger Strider made his stomach twist itself into knots and made him feel a little dizzy. He just... wanted to act like it never happened. Was that too much to ask for?

Why was Dave kissing him anyways?! He himself had been muddle headed when he had kissed Dave the first time, what was the blonde's excuse? Especially when John had been sure he had a crush on Roxy and apparently he had definitely dated Jade before! All signs pointed to Dave being straight. So then why...?

'Because, as troll hybrids go, dating you would make Dave straight,' the niggling voice in the back of John's mind supplied.

That's right... John was submissive, and Dave was dominant. That... that meant... Ugh, who even knew what it meant?! It was giving the boy a headache just thinking about it. Because he still felt like his old self. He didn't feel like a submissive, or all that especially nurturing… He was still a boy, and... well... wasn't homosexuality a boy dating another boy or a girl dating another girl? What happened when you threw in dominants and submissive into the mix? Since boys or girls could be either of those things. Would it make two boys or two girls together gay if they were different troll sexes?

And would he be okay with that?

Wouldn't it be easier if he dated one of the girls instead? They were all dominants, too after all. And it was still a combo John always imagined himself to be in. One boy plus one girl… even if when it came time to have babies, John would be the one with morning sickness, cravings, and swollen ankles.

NOPE!

Stop that train of thought right the fuck there, I want off!

So what was he supposed to do now? John knew the answer was maybe to find his way back to living room and hope that someone was there, or maybe find the kitchen and hopefully Jade and Jake had breakfast cereal or something easy to make. But he didn't want to; because Dave could be out there, or someone would eventually ask him why he was avoiding Dave if and when they noticed his strange behavior.

With a groan, John curled over himself, head thudding against the mattress.

He couldn't just stay in here, could he? Eventually someone would come looking for him, or at the very least he'd grow hungry.

Sigh.

It was with all the resignation in the world that John rolled out of bed, his feet landing with a resounding double thud, his upper body still draped on top of the large bed. He dragged himself this way to the edge, arms pulling after him, and very put upon, straightened upright only when he ran out of bed to drag himself on. The world sucked and so did everything in it.

He yanked off the bed sheet, ready to remake his toga from last night when he spotted two neat stacks of clothes on top of the dresser. He was sure they hadn't been there before, and he wondered if someone had gone in and out of the room while he slept on unaware, or if maybe Jade had warped them in for him. Either way, John just hoped he hadn't flashed anyone else with his nakedness if and when they came in.

He rifled through both piles of clothes, finding a multitude of shirts, shorts, and pants, all of them well worn, meaning they were hand me downs or borrowed clothes from someone else. Under that were pairs of socks and a brand new packet of underwear, which John was glad for. Borrowing someone's clothes was one thing, borrowing their underwear was quite another. Being saved that embarrassment made the submissive feel the tiniest bits better.

All the shirts fit fine, even if some were tighter/longer/looser than others. It was finding a pair of pants or shorts that fit that was a problem. In the end only one pair of shorts and one pair of jeans that worked (even if he had to roll up the pant legs a few times so he wasn't tripping over them). Being dressed was another point up in the mood meter. Now he just had to psych himself up to face Dave and everyone else.

What time was it anyways?

A quick look around the room didn't reveal a single clock, and John was not wise enough in the ways of the world to be able to tell time by the placement of the sun, but he did find a laptop, and those had clocks in them. John just hope Jade or Jake wouldn't mind him using one of their computers.

He could only assume it was Jade's. The girl had a certain motto in life to live by. Everyone should have on them at least five computing devices at all times, like any sensible person. John was greatly lacking, but if Jade had so many computers to spare that she could even spare some for her guest rooms, John wasn't about to call her crazy for it.

One booted up computer later, John was able to determine that it was in fact now 10:41 am, and that the only application available directly on the desktop was Pesterchum. It was like Jade was trying to give him a message or a clue that he just didn't care to listen to.

He got online and checked his emails, nothing from his dad, nothing but spam, really. He did a search about the news article regarding his house being set on fire. It was gone, nothing left but charred pieces on a burnt lot. His neighbors' homes had suffered damage as well, but that should have been a given. John himself was considered a missing person, presumably kidnapped, possibly dead. God, is that what his dad thought happened to him? If only he'd just check his phone, one of his texts or voice mail!

With a soft sigh, John quickly typed up an email to his dad and hoped that at least he'd check that and get back to him.

dad,  
it's john. i just wanted to let you know that i'm okay. everything is… everything is not okay, but i'm okay, and i'm worried about you. please answer me if you're okay, too!

love you,  
john

That done and out of the way, John wasted a bit more time checking all his favorite web comics before finally giving in and logging in to Pesterchum.

Instantly two chat windows spring to life on the screen with messages in bright green and red, and while objectively they looked rather festive, they just filled John's stomach with chunks of ice. He tabbed down Dave's chat window to read Jade's first. It was shorter, and wouldn't take as long to read. That was the only reason. Honest.

- gardenGnostic [ GG ] began pestering ectoBiologist [ EB ] at 02:34 -  
GG: john?  
GG: oh i guess youre not online :(  
GG: message me when you get online  
GG: theres so much we need to talk about!  
GG: and not one thing in particular  
GG: thats not what this is about at all  
GG: not even a little  
GG: so pester me when you can okay?  
GG: bye!  
- gardenGnostic [ GG ] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [ EB ] at 02:39 -

Oh god... how did Jade know?! This was a nightmare. Did Dave tell everyone? God damn it all, John just wanted to punch his stupid, handsome face in.

Speaking of which...

- turntechGodhead [ TG ] began pestering ectoBiologist [ EB ] at 03:15 -  
TG: hey  
TG: look i  
TG: it was all a joke  
TG: ha ha fucking hilarious right?  
TG: got the prankster prince good  
TG: the king is dead long live the king  
TG: in conclusion  
TG: hehe that was so funny  
TG: dave you are hilarious well played  
TG: so just  
TG: dont think too much about it  
TG: no  
TG: wait  
TG: fuck it  
TG: i messed up im sorry  
TG: can we just  
TG: i dont know  
TG: pretend it never happened  
TG: im game if you are  
TG: ugh  
TG: im just  
TG: sorry  
- turntechGodhead [ TG ] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [ EB ] at 03:18 -

Aw, hell... What was he supposed to do with that? And what were his insides doing now? Was this another part of the Change? Because frankly it was very disturbing, this squirmy, hot/cold, knotted feeling taking up residence in most of his torso.

Dave wasn't online at the moment, Jade was... but John felt a more pressing need to give the blond some sort of answer. It was cowardly, sending Dave replies when he wasn't online, but honestly, it made him no better than the blond right now.

i'm not gay.

No… that… that was too… no… He quickly backspaced on that message.

i just don't get why you did that.

Was that… too accusatory? Better backspace that one, too.

This was ridiculous. Why was talking to his best friend suddenly so hard? Normally he could say whatever came to mind and he knew that Dave would take it in stride (hehe), or knew when he was joking, but now… All he could do was worry about how any wrong word could permanently ruin their friendship. And that was the absolutely last thing that John ever wanted.

He stared at his screen for a small eternity, chewing on his bottom lip.

Ow!

Wetness trickled down his chin, blue coming away on his fingers when he wiped it up. Wow, that was still really freaky. And he hadn't bitten down that hard, what was that about? John licked the blood off his fingers and poked around his mouth for the source of what caused the injury, finding his canines to be… a bit longer, and much sharper than they had been before… Wait… why hadn't he noticed that before? Was he still changing?

Mirror, he had to find a mirror.

There wasn't one in the room, there was hardly anything in the room, really. But there was a bathroom close by, next door if John remembered correctly. And from the looks of it, no one was rooming close to him, not that he could recall. Was he willing to risk being seen by someone (DAVE) just to check out his teeth in a mirror…?

…

It was so unlikely, though!

So inevitably the answer was yes, but only because it was so unlikely that he'd actually run into anyone.

Silently padding bare feet along the cold stone floors, John peeked out of his room, finding the coast clear, then skittering a quick path to the bathroom, soundly closing the door behind himself.

The guest bathroom here made the Strider bathroom look like a dingy roadside motel bathroom. It was… luxury. Really, it didn't need words anymore descriptive than that, and very modern looking as well, stainless steel sinks, a large vanity mirror, a separate tub and shower. The tub was large and deep, with nozzles on the side that the submissive had no doubt would stream in bubbles if he just knew how to work it, and the shower looked like it had several shower heads built into the walls on all sides as well as overhead… that looked… excessive.

He'd explore that more in length later, right now all John could concentrate on was the mirror. He had never considered himself vain, even now a quick washing of his face, and a few brushes through his untamable hair was all he considered necessary to be suitably presentable to the world. But now all he could do was study his every feature in great detail, from the too blue color of his eyes, to the new slimness of his face. And he could see it all with such picture perfect clarity despite the fact that his glasses had been gone for days.

He found a new tube of toothpaste alongside an equally new, still packaged, toothbrush waiting for him beside the sink, a green one with blue lining. It made John smile, Jade knew him so well. But it made him focus more on why he had originally come in here in the first place. His teeth…

But first his lips. They were… the same as they always were, at least those hadn't changed. Currently, a small dot of skin was broken on his bottom lip, and while it had stopped bleeding, the scab forming was a dark blue on his skin, nearly turning black. So. Weird. He ran his tongue over it, and it felt like a normal scab on his lap, it even tasted the same… it just looked weird. But he supposed that unless someone was really staring, it wouldn't look that different from a normal cut at a distance.

He hadn't considered that all these changes he was going through would include dentistry as well, but baring his teeth in the mirror, his more prominent canines were easily detectable. The actual points of them were sharper, too. Like a real carnivores, and not the dinky flatly pointed teeth that humans had for ripping up their meats. Really, they were more like fangs now. John had fangs. He tapped at them gingerly with a fingertip, poking at them with his tongue, sucking in a sharp breath with he nicked the agile muscle, more beads of bright blue blood welling up on the tip of his tongue. This was going to take some getting used to. Really, it was a surprise he hadn't hurt himself or Dave when they had been…

Ugh, stop that!

With a groan, John leaned forward to gently bump his head against the smooth mirror's surface… only to have something knock into it before his skull could, the sensation sending a strange rattling feeling through his brain.

Ah, right… the horns…

John pouted up at them, glaring at the orange monstrosities on top of his head. Was it his imagination, or did they look bigger…? Maybe that was the reason behind his headache… Well… Jade had said they were going to get bigger. Might as well accept it now, make peace with the fact that he was now part ram or something, and move on with his life.

They did look a little bigger… bluh!

John quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, giving his face a final inspection before exiting the bathroom.

He ran headlong into a firm, but giving wall.

"Oof! I…" John started to apologize, but his voice died in his throat as he looked up at forest green eyes, looking down at him in equal surprise.

"Oh, good morning to you, John," Jake smiled easily, and John caught a glint of fang on the insanely tall man as well. So that was a common thing. Like their ears being pointed was a common thing they all had now.

"G'morning," John mumbled back, rubbing his forehead.

"I see the clothes we picked out for you fit perfectly. Looks like Rose had it right," Jake said thoughtfully, looking John over.

The submissive's eyes furrowed, "What did Rose have right?"

"The combination, of course. The shirts are all mine. Things from my youth, when I was… well when I was younger than you, but I hit my growth spurt early."

John looked down at his shirt, it was a Captain America t-shirt, worn in and a little faded, but otherwise still perfectly good, "Thanks for that."

"Not a problem, my good chum. The pants are Jade's. From about two years ago, when she was still a gangly thing.'

John felt a tick at his temple, "I'm wearing girl pants?"

Jake laughed good-naturedly, "I'm afraid so, but you couldn't tell until I told you, right? Don't worry so much about it."

John sighed, "Just another wonderful aspect about my Change, I guess…"

"Chin up there, John. This is all just temporary anyways. We'll be able to get you a whole new wardrobe soon enough and you'll get first pick of everything of course. I know you probably lost all of your things in that fire. My condolences."

"Yeah…" John shifted awkwardly. Everything about his old life was gone. Well almost everything… if only he could get in contact with his dad.

An awkward silence grew between them.

"Jade noticed that you were up, but she's accusing you of ignoring her and I'm afraid she left it up to me to nanny you on her behalf," Jake explained in a rush, shrugging his shoulder, "So apologies in advance for that as well."

John was glad for the subject change, fitting a smile into place easily, "Pff, s'alright. Man, she's really impatient, though. I was just in the restroom!" he rolled his eyes.

"She's just worried about you," Jake said with a light furrow of his brow.

Uh-oh. Had he done something to flip one of Jake's strange reaction switches? Maybe he didn't appreciate John speaking ill of his sister even in joking. Maybe it was best to just move on from the subject.

The perfect subject change presented itself just over Jake's shoulder. "Oh hey, it's one of those fairy bulls."

The little thing ducked behind Jake's back when it was spotted, only to peek back up over the opposite shoulder.

Jake's features relaxed into another smile, "Right you are. This is Crysta and she decided to come along with me to see how you were doing."

"Crysta? Like from FernGully?"

Jake's entire expression lit up, "Exactly! It's about bloody time one of you got the reference."

"What? But FernGully was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Who wouldn't get the reference?" John asked in surprise.

"Right? But no one else has known the name or where it was from before now!" Jake huffed. "No one here appreciates a good, cinematic classic."

John scoffed softly, "I know! None of my friends know what makes a good movie, either."

Jake suddenly smiled, "Well at least someone understands. Crysta is fairly new to the fairy bull swarm, so she gets pretty shy, especially around strangers. She likes to follow me around, though."

The little bull seemed less timid now that Jake was in higher spirits, floating over his shoulder and down to John's eye level. It mewled and nuzzled the smaller boy's cheek affectionately before flittering back behind the safety of Jake.

John laughed softly, rubbing his cheek afterwards, "She's cute. How can you tell if they're boys or girls?" They all looked the same to him, really.

Jake's cheeks turned a light green and he scratched at his cheek thoughtfully, "If I can be completely honest, I can't. But I can tell them apart individually and they don't seem to care whether they get a boy's name or a girl's name."

John snorted in amusement, "Well, it's better than naming them all Tinkerbull or something."

"Now that is simply too obvious and I will not belittle their existence by making puns out of their names," Jake sniffed indignantly.

"Roxy named one Tinkerbull, didn't she?" John snickered.

"Roxy calls them all Tinkerbull," Jake snorted and John couldn't help but laugh a little harder. "Now enough of this tomfoolery. I promised my little sister I would fetch you for brunch and there will be no more dillydallying."

"Not even a little?" John asked innocently, staring up at the tallest dominant with wide eyes.

He should have felt bad about the way Jake flustered and sputtered for words turning dark green. Wasn't this part of the problem, behaving like a timid, coquettish little girl? But... it wasn't like he was taking advantage of any situation. He had always acted like this jokingly; it was just... now it apparently affected people on a real level. At least some people. Jake seemed… affected…

"Whatever it is, just hurry it up," Jake managed to say.

John just stared at him for a moment, wondering curiously what the other was thinking. Was this… another thing he'd have to get used to? Ugh, thinking about it made his head ache, and he just couldn't deal with it right now.

"Just a minute," he replied quickly, then dashed back to his room.

His pesterlog window with Jade was blinking with new messages.

- gardenGnostic [ GG ] began pestering ectoBiologist [ EB ] at 11:30 -  
GG: there you are!  
GG: how could you make me worry like that? :(!  
GG: john…?  
GG: ugh! youre away from the computer right now arent you?  
GG: why do you get online if youre not going to be online?  
GG: alright youve left me with no other choice  
GG: im sending in the cavalry  
GG: you brought this on yourself!  
- gardenGnostic [ GG ] began pestering ectoBiologist [ EB ] at 11:47 -

Wow… she was so dramatic. John couldn't help but laugh a little. So Jake was the cavalry now, huh? Under her chat window, the one with Dave was still waiting. He still hadn't gotten online which made John wonder if maybe Dave was avoiding being online completely. It was so unlike him.

John pursed his lips, careful of any and all lip chewing now, and thought about what it was he could save to Dave that would save their friendship while also not giving the blond anymore false hopes of mistakenly leading him on again. It had to be clear, but simple. Ignoring the twist in his gut, John quickly typed out and sent the message back to Dave's offline chumhandle.

EB: it happened.  
EB: and we can't pretend it didn't happen.  
EB: but maybe we can move on like it didn't and not make a big deal about it?  
EB: still friends?

The ball was in Dave's court now. John just hoped that Dave would be willing to keep playing this game called friendship with him. With a sigh, he signed off Pesterchum and met Jake in the hallway again, "Alright, lead the way."

"Sounds good, so we'll be having brunch, and then I'm afraid Jade has commandeered our entire afternoon to suit her fancy."

"What about the others?" John asked.

Jake smiled sheepishly, "Afraid you're stuck with just the two of us for the afternoon."

That actually seemed to be a heaven sent idea to John. He didn't think he could deal with everyone else's energy right now. With Roxy's shameless, playful flirting, with Dirk's... everything! And with Rose probably able to tell how long the kiss had been and maybe even the viscosity of his and Dave's combined swapped spit just by the way John would look at her. And Dave... he wanted to remain friends with Dave, but he didn't think he was ready to face him just yet.

So he offered Jake a bright smile, "What's on the agenda?"

Jake smiled right back, "We thought we'd take you to the shooting range and test your marksmanship."

"My... uh... it'd probably be very bad. I've never even held a gun before!" John exclaimed.

Jake laughed, "Then it's high time you had! Don't worry, you'll be learning from the best. Jade is an amazing shot, and you'll never find as long as you live, a better marksmen than me."

"And yet you're still so modest," John hesitated just a second to tease, "That's a little boastful, don't you think?" he quirked an amused eyebrow.

"Simply the truth," Jake smiled.

* * *

John's ears were ringing. While the gun toting sibling duo had a pretty decent shooting range (as far as he knew, which wasn't much), they didn't seem to have any sound deafening headphones. Which meant every shot fired cracked loudly and echoed in their enclosed space. Jade said that practically, you couldn't have headphones with you at all times if you ever found yourself in a situation when the use of a gun is called for. Which made sense, John just wished his ear drums didn't have to pay the price of practicality.

All he could do was cover his ears with his hands and press down desperately hard as the next round of shots rang out in the clearing, banging and clanging, and whizzing off in different directions as they struck off against solid object and ricocheted in different, wild directions. Every single one of them missed their mark.

Jake was a terrible shot. John hadn't seen many people shoot guns that weren't in movies, but honestly, he would have expected a lot better. He had started off pretty good, and admittedly the first round had left John really impressed. It had only gone downhill from there. The man had missed most of his marks, and even John had hit close to a few of his.

"He's really bad," he stage whispered to Jade, who was at least ten times as good as Jake was right now. At least ten. Jade would make any gun toting movie heroine or hero alike exceptionally proud.

Jake blushed darkly from where he had just emptied another clip without making a single mark, "I... I do seem to be having an off day..."

John quirked a brow. This is what he called an off day?

Jade looked between the two boys, smiling sheepishly, "Jake is actually a really great shot, it's just that his-" she cut herself short when her brother shot her a glare, scoffing and rolling her eyes.

"His what?" John asked, having missed the interaction.

"His…" Jade racked her brain for an answer, glancing at her brother, who looked equally stumped. "His… stage fright! He gets awfully shy around new people, you see. It's usually just the two of us."

"That makes sense," John relented, brows furrowing because it felt like a lie.

Jake looked like he wanted to protest, but was biting back at his words. "Real awful case of the jitters, I'm afraid," he finally said after an awkward pause.

"So you've tried your hand at a pistol, we don't we see how well you do with a rifle?" Jade quickly changed the subject.

John's shooting lessons would continue well into the late afternoon hours.

* * *

Dave stared at his phone screen for what had to be at least the millionth time in the last few hours. In front of him a movie was going. Some artsy fartsy chick flick that Rose had picked and he couldn't care less about. And while usually he would try to pay at least a little bit of attention just so he could openly mock every situation that transpired, today he couldn't even concentrate on it enough to grasp the leading lady's name. All his attention was on his phone, and more importantly the pesterlog window that had been waiting for him when he finally manned up enough to sign onto his phone's app. The same words stared back at him, waiting for him, mocking him, waiting for his resolution.

EB: still friends?

They were still friends, right? John's response had shown far more maturity than the Strider had expected from the emotionally fluctuating submissive. It happened, let's move on and not talk about it again. It was far more than he had expected, and a lot more than he actually deserved. But…

Dave sighed.

Rose tilted her head up from where she had her head resting on the Strider's shoulder, "I take it the text from John hasn't miraculously changed itself to what you want it to say yet?"

"Shut up," Dave groused and put his phone away yet again. It'd be back out in a few minutes.

Grabbing the remote, Rose paused the movie and fully regarded her moirail, "Dave… do I have to go and build a pile to get you to talk to me? Because I'm sure I can find enough of something here to make one. Perhaps scattered robotic parts, or movie cases, oh no, wait. I have the perfect item. I'll build us a pile made of pumpkins for you to finally tell me what exactly is on your mind."

"I'm surprised you don't know already, you seem to know everything else," Dave muttered.

"Whether or not I know doesn't change the fact that it's important for you to acknowledge it out loud as well," Rose said patiently.

Dave turned his full attention to the petite blond, staring her down, tipping down his shades for full effect. Rose stared back evenly, not a hint of hesitation, unimpressed by the stare down. She quirked a brow and it was Dave who looked away first.

The younger Strider looked around the movie room, finding no sign of spying ears or anyone about to come in. With a sigh, he slumped back further against the couch, letting Rose drape half across his chest now instead of leaning on his shoulder.

"He asked if we were still friends," he finally spoke.

"And… you don't want to be friends with him?" Rose asked thoughtfully.

"Of course I do!" Dave said a little too quickly. He cleared his throats, his cheeks coloring just a bit, "He's my best bro, I'll never not want to be friends with him."

"So then you can simply tell him that," Rose peered up at him, smiling that enigmatic smile of hers, "Problem solved."

"Well yeah…" Dave mumbled.

"But…?" Rose hummed, because there had to be a 'but', or they wouldn't be here in this situation right now.

Strider huffed out an exasperated breath, giving the ash blond girl another look.

Rose simply waited for his answer.

"I… I don't know…" Dave's hand itched to reach into his pocket and grab his phone again, check his Pesterchum one more time..

Rose took hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You were hoping he'd admit to wanting to be more than friends," she finally said for him.

"I'm shit," Dave groaned, thumping his head against the back of the couch. "I'm pure shit. Grade A manure that comes only from diarrhetic cows, meant to fertilize the driest of farm lands. Slap that fecal matter onto your dry, cracked earth, watch your prize winning squash just come to life."

"Dave…" Rose gently placed his fingers over the boy's mouth to cease his insistent, nervous blather. "You're not shit…"

Dave removed this insistent fingers away so he could speak, "I'm pretty sure I am. I'm lamenting the fact that my best friend doesn't want to play tonsil hockey with me on a regular basis when he's willing for forgive me for playing tonsil hockey with him in the first place."

"That doesn't make you shit, Dave. It just makes you human. One with emotions, wants, and desires. The fact that, despite your own wishes and wants, you're willing to respect John's choice and save your friendship is what makes you a good person."

The corner of the blond boy's lips ticked up, "I'm not human, though."

"Well, not completely," Rose agreed.

"You really think I'm not shit?"

"I know you're not. Despite what you'd like people to believe, I know for a fact that you're considerate to the point of fault."

Dave sighed, "I'm a tool..."

"Maybe a little," Rose patted his cheek.

Dave snorted softly, "Thanks, I needed that."

Rose smiled, "Anytime you need me, my pale love."

"Eugh, you know I think it's weird as fuck when you say it like that," Dave's nose wrinkled in distaste.

"Shut up and kiss me," Rose chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah," Dave smirked and leaned down, pulling the petite girl up at the same time to do just that.

It was light and innocent and it helped ease the painful knot in his stomach.

"Aw man, my arms hurts from my fingers all the way up to my shoulder, is that normal? Oh..."

And just like that the knot was back and it squeezed itself all the tighter in it's newly minted abandonment issues. Because fucking John Egbert just had to walk in while he was mid-lip-lock when his moirail... Which John knew nothing about and understood even less. And really, just because John was there and Dave wasn't sure if he was ready to face him just yet.

Of course, the fact that he walked in on Dave and Rose sharing a pale as fuck kiss just made it all the more awkward.

"Oh, hey guys!" Jade chirped cheerfully, not feeling any of the awkwardness herself. Of course, Jade knew about him and Rose. "I was actually just about to message you. We wanted to have a mini movie marathon and we wanted to know if you guys were up to it. Dirk and Roxy are already on their way over."

"We're going to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have the director's cut," Jake added, bringing in the rear of their little group.

"I think that might be a challenge to sit and watch in one go, but I think I'd be willing to give it a try," Rose said as she pulled herself away from her Dave Strider mattress and sat upright.

Dave didn't say anything, his eyes cemented to John's face, to those blue eyes that were staring right back at him. His expression was unreadable, try as Dave might to decipher that expression on the smaller boy's face. And it wasn't because John had perfected some form of poker face, but rather because John's expression was such a convoluted mixture of emotions that it was impossible to settle on what he might actually be feeling.

"Are you already watching something?" Jade asked, noticing the paused screen.

"Oh that... We can stop that if you'd like. It's just been a long time since the last time I got to spend any quality time with my moirail, and I thought I'd torture him a little," Rose smiled sweetly and turned the movie off.

"Wait, you were what?" Dave asked, finally tearing his gaze away from the submissive.

"What's a moirail?" John asked when the staring spell he had been locked in was broken as well.

"Oh yes, we never did get to explain troll courtships and romances, did we Dave?" the blond girl glanced at the younger Strider.

Dave felt a tick at his temple. God damn Rose always having to be right, "Yeah... guess we didn't..."

"So then... moirails are like... boyfriends?" John asked, looking between the two blonds, his brow furrowed when he glanced at Dave. That would make the most sense. And this was technically the second time he had seen the two of them kiss. How could he have forgotten the first time at the pier? But then what was Dave doing with him?

Fuck, now John thought he was dating Rose and kissing him, and breaking Jade's heart, fuck, fuck, fuck! Rose, what are you doing?! Any other time he wouldn't mind having the reputation of a heart breaker and a pimp master, but not right now! Not with John probably thinking he was the scum of the Earth.

"In a way... but not in any way that you're probably thinking," Rose explained, patting the empty seat beside her, the one that would put the little brunette between the two of them.

John hesitated, glancing over at Dave distrustingly, like he expected the blond boy to grab him and forcefully kiss him again. Fuck, this was bad...

"Oh, is it time for the quadrants lesson?" Roxy walked in just at that moment, leaning against the back of the couch, her face suddenly inches away from Dave, "I can help translate the Rose speak to those of us Freudian challenged!"

Rose sighed heavily, "The sad part is that I believe it will be needed."

"Quadrants?" John asked, curiosity piqued. He walked around the couch and sat down between Rose and Dave in the spot the ash blond girl had indicated.

"Do we have to?" Jake groaned.

"Have to what?" Dirk asked, the last to join in with the group. His cheek was streaked with what looked to be oil, a deluxe swiss army knife in one hand, a severed robotic arm in the other.

"What is..." John started to ask, but then thought better of it.

"Rose is going to explain quadrants to John," Jake explained to the sunny blond.

"I guess we couldn't avoid it for very long," Jade shrugged, taking a seat on the floor by Rose's feet.

"Ah, so we've gotten to this point already, huh? Sooner than I anticipated, what, with yesterday's freak out" with a motion of his head, Dirk led Jake over to the love seat next to the couch, the two taking their seats. He continued to tinker with the robotic arm, pulling a cable loose from a panel in it's forearm and attaching it to... his glasses...?

"Okay, so then what are quadrants?" John regarded Rose, steadfastly ignoring both of the Strider men.

"Quadrants are the alternian equivalent of human romance. Where as in human romance is a singular concept, complicated and immense as the concept of love might be, alternian romance is far more complicated. alternians have four different types of romance. And that is only speaking of their more basic of concepts. Just like human romance can come in multiple forms and can be expressed in nearly endless ways, alternian romance is at least four times as complicated with the ability to mix and match different quadrants as suits one's emotions for another. It's very complex and fascinating. But for the sake of time and for the sake of your sanity, we'll stick to the most basic of alternian romances."

"Uh... what...?" John asked, utterly perplexed.

"Basically while humans can be in total hearts for each other, trolls have four symbols total that they can feel for someone. Hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades is probably the most simple way to look at it," Roxy simplified.

"Oh..." John glanced at the older Lalonde, still not sure he really understood any of it. "So then... trolls can have 4 partners each? Like a polyamorous whatever relationship?"

"Well... not quite, but I'm sure that is entirely possible as well," Rose tapped her lips thoughtfully, "But like I said, we'll take this one step at a time. As Roxy explained, while human romance is usually represent by the simple symbol of the heart, Alternian romances can be represented by four different symbols: a heart, a diamond, a spade, or a club, also known as the flushed quadrant, the pale quadrant, the caliginous quadrant, and the ashen quadrant respectively."

"So... Like playing cards..." John hummed thoughtfully.

"Something like that," Jade smiled, "I think we should start with matesprits, it's the one John is more than likely to grasp right away."

"Matesprite?" John repeated, mouth pulling to one side, "What's that?"

"That's matesprit, and Jade is right, it's the simplest quadrant to understand for someone new to quadrant relationships simply because it is very much like human love. Matespritship is the flushed quadrant and it is represented with a heart symbol."

"Okay, but you said it's very close, does that mean it's not exactly the same?" John asked curiously.

"Very astute of you, John," Rose smiled, "You're right, there are a few differences between human love and alternian matespritship, but then again the same could be said about human love within itself going in case by case scenario. No two loves are the same, and the same holds true for matespritships. But they are both based on positive feelings from one being to another, and they both bring forth good feelings and an increasing need for closeness to your chosen partner. I think one of the major differences between humans and alternians is that alternians would associate the feeling of pity with love, while humans emphasize more on their admiration for one another rather than sympathy. The closest I can come to accurately describing pity in romance would be the Florence Nightingale effect, in which a caregiver develops feelings of love for their patient. But that's a desperately overly simplified scenario to the real thing. I suppose it comes with the urge to nurture your loved one, but being hybrids, it's hard to say what will drive each of us in finding a flushed partner."

"Umm... okay, I think I get all of that," John nodded, lips pursed, "But matesprits isn't what you said Dave was to you." The boy looked almost anxious to understand.

If it was possible, Rose's expression became even more enigmatic, "It isn't, is it?" Across from John she could see Dave prickle at attention, looking at her imploringly even with the shield of his shades.

It was Roxy who playfully shoved at her sister, though, "Well don't keep the cutie pie in suspense!"

The petite blond giggled softly, "Forgive me. It is the next quadrant I want to explain, though. I believe you heard me call Dave my moirail."

John just nodded, sparing a half second glance over his shoulder at said Strider.

"Moirallegience is known as the pale quadrant, and it's every bit as important as matespritship, sometimes even more so." Over John's shoulder, Dave gave Rose the most outraged look, one that the girl ignored. "Alternians are hot headed and violent by nature, some more than others, and it is important to keep oneself in check to keep from losing control and hurting others, or even themselves. That is when moirallegience is important, though not the only time it is important. A moirail is someone who can pacify these torrid feelings in their partner and balance each other out. It's a mutually symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties in an emotional and physical level. A pair of moirails, especially a well matched pair, will balance each other and compliment each other's emotional profiles to help them better balance their other relationships to a healthier level. They're protective of one another, helping their partner how they can mentally, emotionally, and even physically."

"Think of it like soul mates. You're perfect for each other in every way, you complete one another," Roxy smiled over at Jake as she said this, the tall brunette smiling right back.

"Except that it is platonic," Rose was quick to add.

"Platonic...? So then..." John glanced between Rose and Dave.

Dave's expression was carefully neutral, lips pursed into a thin line.

"Humans wouldn't normally define a pale relationship as romantic, so they'd find it difficult to grasp the finer nuances of a moiralligience," Rose kept explaining. "They don't understand the concept of romance without sexual entanglements, but for alternians it's a fairly easy concept. And while a pair of moirails can share affections such as, for example, let's say a kiss? That doesn't mean that they are intimately involved."

"Think of it as bffsies with extra kiss and cuddle benefits," Roxy explained with a wink.

"Oh... I... okay..." John's brows furrowed thoughtfully. He glanced over at Dave, then back to Rose... so then... "That kiss..."

"Purely platonic, of course," Jade sighed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"My head hurts," John sighed.

"Told you you'd thank me for sparing you from this for a day," Dave gingerly patted the smaller boy's shoulder.

John regarded him, expression careful. Things still felt... weird... different, like they might never be the same again, but Dave... Dave was still his friend. There he was, same as always, not acting like anything was different between them. Maybe he had read his message and this was his answer. "Yeah... thanks for that," he offered with a smile, letting him know without words that things were okay.

"Anytime," Dave replied quietly, the corner of his lips ticking on with the smallest hint of a smile.

"Do you need me to go on or has your curiosity been satisfied?" Rose peered over John's shoulder, laughing softly when the submissive jumped in his seat.

"I... I think I'm good for now, it's a lot to take in. Can we... can we save the other two for another day?"

"Lame," Dirk muttered where he was working on his robotic arm, with a small twist of the swiss army knife the metal fingers curled and uncurled, then the sunny blond was back to tinkering.

"Of course, just let me know when you're ready," Rose sat back in her seat. "So we're going to watch the Lord of the Rings now?"

Rose Lalonde was magic, Dave was sure of it. The girl had just single-handedly fixed his relationship with John without mentioning a single thing about what had transpired between them. He was going to have to figure out a special way to thank her.

* * *

They had barely finished The Fellowship of the Ring when the majority of the group decided one was enough for a single sitting. The majority being everyone except John and Jake, but being outvoted, the two boys relented and agreed that it was time for dinner, making promises that they'd continue it early enough tomorrow to finish up the last two.

Dinner consisted of hamburgers and french fries, and when John asked where the food was even coming from, Jade had just smiled mysteriously. It was only after John had fearfully asked if they were eating ground fairy bulls that Jake admitted that Bec usually brought home regular foods from the market, though had only given a shrug when John had asked how it was all paid for.

After dinner activities included, but were not limited to, putting their skills and their friendships to the test in back to back Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. Roxy was the queen of the go-kart derby, but it was surprisingly the team of John and Rose that had one the team battles in SSB. It was a combination no one figured would work with John's penchant for button mashing, and Rose's general disinterest in video games. But the girl was a master strategist and John was, maybe unsurprisingly, crafty. He was a trickster prince after all.

It was the adults who caved in to fatigue first, Roxy excusing herself to go to bed around eleven. She had gotten a sudden text and had excused herself, claiming it was work related and she had to get a few hours in before bed. It had sounded suspicious and Rose had told her sister so. Roxy just laughed and waved her fingers daintily in parting. Dirk and Jake excused themselves around midnight.

"What? You're ditching us, too?" John asked with a pout, "I mean Dirk can go, fuck Dirk! But I thought we were having fun, Jake." He stuck his lower lip out and made the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

Jake laughed, shaking his head in amusement, "There you go with the scandalous peepers again, Mr. Egbert. 'Fraid it can't change my mind, though. Consider me completely soused on fun. But we'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. That's a promise."

"Deal!" John beamed, then yelped in alarm when his kart went spinning out of control. "Hey! No fair! You can't turtle shell me when I'm not even looking!"

"All is fair in love and go kart racing, bro. Can't take the heat? Get the fuck off my race track," Dave bumped shoulders with the small brunette as his car shoved past him in the game.

"Oh, fuck you! It is so on now. We're entrenched in this shit, Dave!" John turned his full attention back to the game just in time to see a blue turtle shell zoom past his driver and set its aim straight to Dave's, knocking Princess Peach off the road. "HA! Thanks Jade!" John cheered as Luigi took his rightful place back at the front.

"You're welcome, but enjoy the lead while you can. You're next!" The tall girl grinned ferally, leaning forward in her seat, crossed legged on the couch, as she urged Yoshi to go faster in the game.

Jake shook his head in amusement as left them to go on playing, catching up with Dirk who was already at the staircase.

"They're nice kids. It's good to see Jade be around her peers, I've never seen her so energetic. And that is saying something."

"It's good for them to be around each other," Dirk agreed as he started up the stairs.

"It's good for us, too," Jake took long strides to catch up to the shorter man, wrapping his arms around his middle when he caught up to him, "I missed you, you know."

"Really? I didn't think you would have noticed I was here with those 'scandalous peepers' fixed on you at all times," Dirk turned around in Jake's hold, the step up he had on him making him just the slightest bits taller.

Jake blinked in surprise, completely sidelined by the statement, "… What?"

"Nothing, just realizing that you haven't gotten over your fetish for blue beauties is all," Dirk broke Jake's hold on him and continued up the stairs. "Apparently it doesn't matter to you whether those beauties are male or female."

"Are..." Jake shook his head clear of confusing thoughts, taking the steps two at a time to catch up with the blond, "Are you talking about John?!"

"Know any other shota twinks that turn appealingly blue in the face with any little fluster?" Dirk rounded one flight and started up the second.

"Now wait one bloomin, cotton pickin second there, Mr. Strider!" Jake's longer legs helped him catch up quickly, grabbing the sunny blond by the wrist to stop his ascent up the stairs. "Don't you go and sully my new friendship with John with your baseless and jealous accusations when you have been the one shamelessly flirting with another right in front of my eyes."

Dirk sighed, regarding his boyfriend with a serious expression, "Can we at least make it to the next floor before we hypothetically start exchanging blows?"

Jake bristled, eyes widening, "Is this going to come to blows?" he asked as he let go of the Strider's wrist.

"Probably not," Dirk shrugged as he continued up the stairs to the next floor.

Jake sighed heavily, part in relief, mostly in aggravation, and followed Dirk up. He murred an unhappy sound, "Strider..."

Dirk didn't wait for Jake to catch up, though he didn't head up the next set of stairs, walking out of the stair hall instead to the closest adjoining room. It was the safari room, decorated much like a safari room in a museum, fake trees reaching high up to the ceiling, draped with vines and moss, the floor covered in dirt protruding with thick roots and growing shrubbery save for the neatly lined paths that would lead around the room. All this just to make a home for a whole assortment of stuffed trophies, many of which probably didn't belong in a rain forest.

Dirk followed the tiled path until he came up to a stuffed tiger, wondering how Jade and Jake's grandparents had managed to kill and stuff one without facing the brunt force of the law, but it was probably incredibly old, despite it's well cared for appearance. He brushed his fingers along the striped fur, just like the marks on his own back. Though one could only hope he had better survival instincts.

"Where exactly are you planning on leading me?" Jake asked, a step behind.

"I'm not really leading you anywhere. You're following my lead and I have no set destination myself," though here seemed good, Dirk thought.

"Here's good enough," Jake mirrored his thoughts out loud, "Now let's have this out. I take it that you don't approve of my new friendship with John?"

"Nah, I never said that. I just think it's pretty fucking hypocritical of you to make goo-goo eyes at the kid and then give me dirty looks and the cold shoulder for my banter with him," Dirk shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I'm not-" Jake tried to defend himself, but his cheeks were already starting to color.

"Really? Because you seemed pretty cold towards the kid until his cheeks turned a pretty shade of azure for the first time," Dirk quirked a brow up.

Jake was definitely blushing now, "That wasn't..."

"That wasn't what? Completely obvious? I think it was. At least I'm keeping my mild flirtations to a completely different quadrant than I already have filled."

The brunette winced, "I didn't mean for it to look that way..."

Dirk sighed softly, "Look... I get it. The twerp is cute, the two of you like the same shitty movies, have a pretty similar sense of humor, he's small and looks like he's in need of protection, and he's submissive. I just wanted to let you know if you wanna..." he shrugged, "End things again... End them for good, and see where things take you with the kid, just let me know now before it gets messy down the line."

"Dirk... I'm not..." Jake could only stare at the blond in shock.

"Let me make this easier for you, then. It's over, Jake," Dirk's voice, his entire posture and visible expression was tense and even, cold and calculated.

Jake wasn't having it. Not this time.

Hot anger bubbled up in the pit of his stomach, he grabbed onto Dirk's wrist again before the blond could withdraw physically as quickly as he was doing emotionally. "Now you wait one cotton picking minute there, Mr. Strider! You can't just break up with me and act like you're the martyr, sacrificing your feelings for my sake. We aren't teenagers anymore! That bull won't fly."

"I'm not so selfless. I'm just breaking it off now before you have the chance to hurt me down the line," Dirk shrugged his shoulders, looking away.

"What makes you think that I'll hurt you at all?" Jake squeezed his hold on the blonde's arm.

"History, mostly," Dirk said flippantly. "This wouldn't be the first time that you've wanted to break from me.

Jake winced, "Dirk... I've never... never once thought of pursuing any other romantic entanglements while we were on break. Nor do I plan to. And in case you haven't noticed, I haven't asked for a break in almost two years."

"So we're long overdue. And you like the kid."

"Yes, alright! I bloody well like him! He is the likable sort. He is cheeky and funny, he's thoughtful and uniquely clever, and blast it all if I don't find his pocket size adorable as the dickens, but..." Jake stepped around Dirk to face him, gripped his chin to force the blonde to meet his gaze, and then gently removed those triangular frames to guarantee that he had his attention. Those orange eyes, like burning flames, framed by pale lashes, were always so captivating "None of that holds a flame to how I feel about you."

Dirk didn't react save for the slightest widening of his eyes. But Jake knew how to read his matesprit better than that.

Jake sighed and leaned down, touching his forehead to his matesprit's, "Can we drop this ridiculous subject now?"

"But you like the kid. And he's submissive, you get along with him much more easily than you ever did with me..." Dirk tried to argue.

"You like John, too, don't pretend to me that you don't. I know you too well for that," Jake spoke quietly in the small space between them, closing his eyes as he nudged their foreheads lightly.

"But, it's not the same. I... I hate this kid, you..." Dirk found himself floundering for words. Speaking about emotions was never his strong suit.

"You know it's entirely possible to find someone attractive without being attracted to them," Jake mumbled softly as he tilted his head, his lips ghosting over the blonde's. "I know it's hard to believe. It took me a while to realize it for myself," his tone was lightly teasing, but warm, a touch husky.

When was Jake ever this smooth and articulate with his thoughts?

"So what you're saying is that you're not allowing me to break up with you?" there was the smallest tremor in Dirk's voice.

"Not unless you tell me that you don't want me anymore," Jake murmured, just brushing their lips together.

Dirk shivered. He shook his head almost imperceptibly, but Jake could feel the movement, the tickle of Dirk's hair on his forehead.

He smiled, "I'm glad..."

Jake's voice was a low purr, one that shook up Dirk's insides and made the small hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end. This was the Jake meant only for him, that no one else knew about, and when he flicked his gaze up to meet those forest green eyes, it wasn't the lovably klutzy overgrown boy everyone else knew Jake as. It was a creature every bit as dangerous as any jungle cat, every bit as sultry and graceful, and it was all for him. Only for him...

He couldn't make himself wait until Jake closed the final distance between them, place his lips gently over his own and tease him with just a taste of what he wanted. Dirk had been good, he had waited and showed remarkable patience, and he had almost let it all go over a tiny insecurity. And Jake was still teasing him, still hovering just out of reach, promising everything and giving nothing. Screw all of that.

Jake's body is so solid, and it wasn't that Dirk wasn't fit himself, but Jake... god damn, Jake. The blond could never get enough of smoothing his hands over every inch of available skin, of feeling solid muscle under soft, worn cloth. Of feeling those toned muscles tense and flex, jump and relax under his hands as their bodies pressed together, mouths colliding, tongues caressing, squirming. It wasn't sweet and delicate, it wasn't soft and tender, it was raw power unleashed and Dirk could never get enough of drowning in it.

He was lifted up but strong, making it easier on the taller man to keep from being bent over, wrapped around the solidity of his body. Jake nipped at his lips and Dirk felt his body give, melt against this matesprit, a needy mewl tugged free from his throat.

"Fuck, I want you."

* * *

"I can't believe that Rose won that last battle round," John said in wonder as he hopscotched his way across the pond hall, a hallway literally decorated to look like a pond, flooded with water and only cross-able by strategically placed flat stones. It was hard to tell just how deep the water actually went, but the appeal of wet shoes and pant legs wasn't appealing by any stretch of the imagination.

"Well Sheik is a pretty bad ass character, it's not that surprising," Dave shrugged as he took the stones with long stride of his legs instead of skipping across like his friend. It helped that he had a good five inches on John in height and that most of it was distributed to his legs.

"It's more than just the character you pick! You have to know what to do with them. How do you think Jade kicked your ass with Kirby?" John argued.

"Hey, Kirby can basically become a version of any character he swallows. Playing with Kirby is fucking cheating!" Dave defended.

"Pfff, sure Dave. Sure..." John teased as he reached the end of the hall.

"I will take you back to the movie room right now and whoop your ass, Egbert," Dave grumbled as he reached the end as well

"Don't be a sore loser, Dave," John snickered, bouncing along ahead. That is until he reached the stairway that would lead him back to his own room, "Umm... I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Dave hesitated a moment, fighting the urge to scuff his foot along the floor childishly, "Yeah... Or... we can hang out a bit longer tonight. We can chill in your room... Or mine..."

"I..." John hesitated.

* * *

"Uhn, fuck," it was a mixed sound of pleasure and pain that escaped Dirk as his back hit the tree, though it wasn't enough to deter him from arching against Jake's body, feeling turgid heat rub against his trapped arousal.

"S-sorry," Jake mumbled against his lips, easing the blond slightly off the unforgiving wood scraping at his back, "I always forget..." Dirk's wings...

"Nngh, don't even bother with it, god, just don't stop," Dirk said, his voice low, breathless.

"Dirk, your wings," Jake tried to bother anyways.

"It's fine, they're fine, don't you fucking dare start this now, English," a growl rumbled in Dirk's chest.

Jake sighed, "I just don't see why you have to keep them hidden when it's just us here and we already know the truth."

Dirk huffed a disgusted sigh, "You're not going to drop this, are you?"

Jake just shook his head.

Another sigh from the blond, "You're one to talk, by the way. We're all different here, and you hide yourself anyways. I bet you do it even when it's just you and Jade."

The brunette bristled, murring unhappily, "That's different."

"How is it different?" Dirk pressed.

"It just is," Jake frowned.

"I don't think it is," Dirk said evenly.

"Dirk, don't start this now."

"You're the one who started it, Jake."

"Well now I want to end it here!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, Jake."

"Dirk!"

"All I'm asking for is a simple explanation, Jake."

"Because your wings are beautiful and my change makes me look like a freak! Like I'm sick!" Jake exclaimed, setting the blond down onto his feet gently, drawing away, the heat of the moment gone and lost.

Dirk fought the urge to sigh. He just had to push it, but then, so had his matesprit. "I don't think it makes you look sick."

"Oh please, Strider. I wasn't born yesterday," Jake scoffed, looking over his shoulder to regard his boyfriend.

"Then you've known me long enough to know when I'm not lying," Dirk replied. In the flash of an eye, he was in front of the taller man, gripping his chin to force Jake to look at him. "Come on, Jake. Take them off."

The brunette's breath caught in his throat, staring into those surprisingly passionate orange eyes, feeling the heat of their gaze warm over his skin. "I... I don't think I can..."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," the ever popular last resort. It was good enough to get Jake to laugh, though, so that was something.

"We've already seen all of each other's good, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, but how about this. I won't keep mind hidden if you don't."

Jake's eyes narrowed, "You want me to go about showing everyone?"

"That's what I'm getting at, yeah," Dirk nodded.

"This seems like an unfair trade to me," English groused.

"It is pretty unfair, your change doesn't smack into anything or snag on shit," Strider rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn't keep your wings folded over like that anyways. It can't be good for you," Jake tried to change the angle of the subject.

"Jake," Dirk gave him an even look, "Deal or no deal?"

"I... I don't know..."

The Strider leaned up as he tugged Jake's face down, "Please...? I want to see, and I'm not above begging..."

Jake swallowed hard, a small shiver racing down his back, "You first."

The elder Strider nodded, taking a few steps back. He started with his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, tossing it aside without a care of where it landed. Just the sight of his bare skin was enough to make Jake English swallow hard, a lump forming in his throat. Dirk noticed the bob of the taller man's adam's apple, smirking lightly. He worked on the fly of his pants next, flicking the button off, easing the zipper down with teasing slowness. Orange boxer briefs were slowly exposed, and then they too were eased down Dirk's narrow hips

The moment they were no longer restrained by cloth, orange wings unfolded and spread open wide, fluttering in appreciation to their freedom. Dirk had to admit to himself that it felt really good, having the usually strained muscles on his back finally able to unclench. It was a freedom he so rarely let himself have. Mostly, he just appreciated the way Jake's eyes couldn't seem to leave the vicinity of his being. How, no matter how they roved up and down, they couldn't seem to look away. With a bare upwards quirk of his lip, Dirk pushed his pants and underwear the rest of the way down, groaning when he freed his arousal from their tight confines. Stepping of his clothes and his shoes and socks at the same time, Dirk kicked them all to the side.

The strangled noise his matesprit made was music to Dirk's ears. He approached him slowly, adding just the smallest sway to his hips. Jake visibly shuddered, took a half step back, then forced himself to hold his ground. Dirk's wings fluttered and it was all for show, all to tease the brunette. The pressed his bare body to English's still fully clothed form, let himself have the smallest quiver of a moan as he fit himself near perfectly to the taller man, feeling muted heat press against his lower stomach, knowing what it was and what it meant.

"Your turn," Dirk husked softly against Jake's ear, tugging his earlobe lightly between sharp teeth, just a little sting to add to the heat of his breath over Jake's cooler body.

Jake groaned brokenly, unable to help himself as large hands grabbed tight hold of narrow hips, pulling his shorter matesprit to him roughly. He slipped down to his knees, then back onto his posterior, bringing Dirk down along for the ride, straddling the smaller man on his lap, helplessly rocking his hips up even as he ground Dirk's down, a desperate, breathless moan catching in his throat.

Dirk was so intoxicating when he wanted to be... even when he didn't even try to be! It was hard enough on a regular basis to at least appear like a decent human being not wanting to have his hands all over someone else's body at all hours of the day whenever the blond was around, but when Dirk got like this... how was Jake supposed to resist? How could he?

Not to mention the way he'd just melt under Jake's touch. Before he had met Dirk in person, he always assumed that that the blond would be the... take charge sort in their relationship, and maybe sometimes he was, but mostly... mostly he'd be like this. He'd put up the smallest fights for dominance and then he'd melt. He'd moan, breathless little sounds that sent shots of liquid lightening down Jake's spine, making every nerve ending come alive. He'd arch that beautiful swimmer's body of his, displaying every delicious inch of straining, compact muscle, of smooth skin molding over it, glistening with sweat, with physical manifestations of his desire, and he'd keen. He'd keen like he was desperate, and how could anyone resist that? But it wasn't for anyone else. It was all for him. It was an empowering and intoxicating thought.

"Jake..." Dirk moaned his name and it did things to his stomach, to his chest, to his mind. With a low growl, the taller dominant bit down on his mate's neck, just enough to sting a little, fitting his mouth over the spot, lavving away the sting with his tongue, tasting salt, sweat, and something so undeniably Dirk. "Oh fuck, Jake," the way he'd say his name. Land sakes alive, he could spend an entire day drawing out that sound out of him! Find out how any different ways he could get Dirk to say his name.

"Jake... Mmmnnnn... holy fuck, Jake... please..." and there it was... his complete undoing. Dirk Strider begging for him. The personification of pride beseeching him, pleading for him, needing him.

"Devil fucking dickens, what you do to me, Strider," he murmured just below the blonde's ear, his voice thick, rumbling with need. His hands smoothed over Dirk's back, careful of his wings, massaging at their base and just... reveling in the shudder that brought on in his mate. Lower, his thumb grazing along flexing and relaxing muscles to the small of his back, squeezing there firmly

Dirk groaned, barely hanging onto his rational mind by a thread. And how easy it would be to just let go... But no... they had come to an agreement. It was physically painful to draw himself away, to force his rational mind to stay in control. "It's... it's your turn, Jake."

Jake growled, almost willing to ignore Dirk's words and just take what he wanted. But... his chivalry wouldn't let him live with himself if he did that. With a groan he leaned back, "Fine."

He removed his glasses, setting them face down, even though years of eye wear care taught him that was a bad idea. It was necessary in this case. Squinting one eye shut, Jake forced the other open wide by tugging down at the lower lid. With his free hand he pinched two fingers over the white of his eye, and he pulled away, bringing a film of white along with him. He blinked away the discomfort quickly, wincing for a moment as his eye adjusted to being without it's lens after so long. The sclera of his eye was now a dull golden yellow, and it narrowed in a sulking glare at his boyfriend, "Satisfied?"

Dirk smiled, just a little uptick of his lip, "Almost... Now the other one."

With a long, suffering sigh, Jake removed the other sclera contact lens as well, setting down the white plastic like films over the lenses of his glasses. "I look bizarre," he huffed.

"No more than the rest of us," Dirk hummed, cupping Jake's cheek with his hand, "I personally like this look better... it's more natural."

"Pfff, says you. There's nothing natural about it," Jake groused.

"Yeah, says me. The guy with a pair of fairy wings. It's you without any protective, man made layers. How is that not natural?"

Jake grumbled in response, looking away, "Satisfied now?"

Dirk smiled, shoving Jake flat on his back and leaning over him, "No... but now I can start to be." Those dexterous and talented fingers set to work on making the playing field even as far as clothes went.

* * *

John didn't know what he was supposed to say. On one hand, things were supposed to be normal now. And in a normal world if Dave had been over for a visit, wouldn't he have spent the majority of the time with the blond in his room? But now it meant something different, now everything he did with Dave meant something different, and it was a fine line he was treading between wanting to remain Dave's best friend, and not wanting to give Dave false hopes about... anything they might do.

It was like... they had broken up, but still wanted to be friends. Only they had never dated at all. It was a whole new sort of awkward that John never thought he'd have to experience. Maybe... maybe it was too soon to be inviting Dave up to hang out in his room. They had only just gotten back on track to normal a few hours ago.

"I'm pretty tired, actually. And my arms and shoulders are sore, I just wanna sleep it off," he finally said, and he hoped that he sounded convincing, mostly because it wasn't a lie, just an excuse.

"Yeah... I get you," Dave said, and John was worried that he really did. Mostly worried that by getting him, Dave was getting it wrong. That he wasn't going to be shoving Dave out forever... just... for a little while... while things got back to normal. Dave had to understand that, right?

"We... we're gonna watch the rest of the Lord of the Rings tomorrow, right?" John asked hopefully.

Dave hesitated about a half second before answering, a smirk spreading over his lips, "Course we are man, wouldn't miss it for the world. And someone has to hold your hand through the spider scene."

"We'll see who needs to hold who's hand when they cry like a little baby over the spider scene! Hint: it's gonna be you." John shot back, glad to see that Dave wasn't being weird about it.

"Tch, we'll see if you can still act this cocky when you're staring them down on the jumbo screen. My staircase is on the other end of the building, so I'll catch you around Egbert," Dave pivoted on the balls of his feet turning back down the hall where they had just come from.

"Wait... your room is on the other end? But you came all this way..." hoping that he'd get to follow John to his room. The last part didn't need saying, it was pretty obvious.

Dave just shrugged, "Was hoping to spend some normal time with my best friend, but I guess I'll have to settle for a rain check."

"Dave..." John said softly.

"Stop looking at me so pitifully, Egbert. You'll give a troll hybrid the wrong idea," Dave muttered.

John huffed, rolling his eyes, "Ha ha, hilarious."

"Laugh riot," Dave agreed dryly. "Later Egbert," the blond bid farewell once again

John sighed watching the Strider go. Things were definitely weird. He could only hope that they'd get better in the next couple of days. He should probably try a bit harder not to be weird about it himself, though. But... he just didn't know how he was supposed to act now. Would it hurt Dave's feelings if he kept on like nothing had really happened? Continue with the behavior that had led them down this road in the first place? But wouldn't it be more awkward if he visibly changed his behavior toward Dave? Like he was worried that any little thing he might do might set Dave off again?

And wasn't he actually already doing that now?

"Ugh, this is stupid," John muttered to himself as he started up the circular staircase. He could worry about it later. Maybe... talk to Jade or Rose for advice. For now he just wanted to go to bed and stop thinking.

* * *

"Nnh," Dirk bit back a moan. His head tipped back, offering his matesprit more of his throat, his whole body trembling with each tender scrape of fangs along his pulse line. His body arched along long, calloused fingers, reveling in each touch.

They moved together, pale skin sliding sweat slick along tanned. Dirk curled over Jake's body, his wings fluttering cool air over heated skin, and he spread his legs a little wider, offering all of himself. It'd been so long since the last time he had been with his mate like this, almost a year, but his body still remembered his every touch, the way Jake would guide his hips to move in time to the thrust of his fingers. They were up to three now and his body was quivering.

A shift, a change in the angle of the rool of his hips and bliss broke out along his spine, lighting up all his nerve endings in the most amazing ways, tiny quakes breaking apart his self control.

"God, you better be fucking ready, I'm not waiting anymore," Dirk's voice was breathless, shaking, and he just didn't care.

Jake chuckled, pressing another kiss to the mark he had already undoubtedly left on his throat, "If you're going to be this impatient, then you'll have to take a bit more initiative."

"You say that like it's supposed to keep me in line," Dirk huffed a soft sound of amusement.

Jake grinned, "Give me a show."

* * *

John was lost. He couldn't believe he had actually gotten lost.

Dave must never know.

It was his own fault, really. He had let his curiosity for the rooms he hadn't explored yet get the better of him. The tower was actually a lot bigger on the inside than he looked on the outside. Granted he had only realized that today when they had taken him to the shooting range. John had actually been tempted to ask Jade if she was somehow manipulating the space in here, but that seemed silly.

He had found a mirror maze room, and when he had thought he found the exit, it turned out to be a completely different one than the one he had come in from. After that it had quickly become a hopeless case.

He hoped by exploring the rest of the floor he'd find a way back around to the staircase. It seemed logical enough. It was a tower after all, a cylindrical shape with only so many places one could go on each floor. The worst that could happen was that he'd find an absolute dead end and he'd just have to go back the way he came.

Of course he could just go back the way he came now, but... that would ruin an opportune chance to explore a little more. Right. So it was settled.

The next room seemed to just be an extension of the room below, only a walkway going the going from one end to the other and back again as the available space. John looked over the railing and all he could see was a scattering of trees that just had to be fake, this was like the 4th floor, there was no way the trees could be real. And in the cleared spaces were concrete tiled paths and aerial views of jungle animals. Well... that was interesting... in a very bird's eye view sort of way.

Shimmering orange caught John's eyes, drawing his attention to a small clearing in the space of the trees right at the edge of a path. Was... was that Dirk..? It looked like it... and it looked like he was pinning someone down. It was Jake! What were the two of them even doing down there? Were the two of them wrestling? Wow, really? Just who was supposed to be the older, more mature ones anyways? And what had happened to going to bed earlier like old farts? It was, at the very least, half an hour since the two of them had excused themselves. John doubted this was either of their rooms.

A soft sound floated up from the floor below, low and quivering, causing goose flesh to raise on John's arms, before he could even fully process what it was... and what it meant.

But once he had, he was getting a much clearer picture of what he saw below. Dirk and Jake... moving together... naked...

...

Oh my god!

* * *

Dirk's lips parted in a soft, shaky intake of breath. His head tipped back, rolling along his shoulders. His back arched, leaning back, hands gripping tightly on thick, firm thighs as his body lowered itself inch by torturous, sweet, slow inch onto pulsing heat. It was a face of exquisite pain and even more blissful pleasure, and Strider looked like he was absolutely lost to it. Jake could never get tired of drinking in the sight. The strain of his body, the jump and quiver of his muscles underneath glistening skin. The way his breath stuttered, mixed with barely contained sounds of so good, please, it's so good.

And good lord above did it feel incredible! The heat, the tight sheath coming down around him, the way he could feel Dirk's rapid pulse slowly surrounding him. It was all Jake could do to keep from rolling them both over and ravaging Strider senseless. He wanted to see him like this, taking from him, every last bit that he wanted. He wanted to see Dirk lose himself in his own pace, the beautiful arch of his body, like a work of art. He wanted to hear the way Dirk would moan his name like it was his absolution, his only reason for being. He lived to see this stoic, calm, and collected man break apart for him at his own hands.

Dirk stilled only once he was fully seated around Jake, feeling the girth of him spread him open, his length reaching in deep and nudging his insides, shifting them in place to better fit. Jake was more than proportionate to his height, and god but did Dirk become obsessed with taking all of it, all of him, joining with him, feeling Jake engrave himself into him so that no one else would ever do.

It always felt a little uncomfortable at first, though that was probably with the infrequentness of their love making. How often did they get to see each other? And now with so many others always around, how often would they get to do this? Not often enough for Dirk's tastes. So he had to make each opportunity count.

* * *

Oh god, they were... right now Dirk and Jake were...

Oh my god!

John immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes going wide. They... they were doing it... right there, right below him! Gay sex! And he had walked in just in time to see another man's dong disappear into yet another man's ass. He pretty much knew how gay sex worked between two men. But it wasn't like he had ever tried watching it before. Never! Of course not!

He could hear their heavy breathing, the added noises of soft moans and murmured words he couldn't quite comprehend.

He should leave. Right now. This was obviously a private moment, even if one they had stupidly chosen to do in a public place. John should just respect their privacy anyways, turn around and walk away. Pretend he never saw anything, never breathe a word of it.

His feet weren't cooperating with his mind, neither were his eyes for that matter. He couldn't look away, tear his gaze away from Dirk's body curled and shivering on top of Jake's. And it wasn't that he had a very good view of what they were doing. Right now it just looked like Dirk was doing a slow motion bounce on Jake's lap, rising up, then sliding back down, the hitch in voice increasing with each downward thrust. And if he angled his head just... like so... he could kinda see where they-

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Stop it! Look away, John! Look away now!

He couldn't. He didn't think he could trust his body to move. His insides felt squirmy and strange, too warm dripping down to the pit of his stomach, and his knees felt like they were suddenly made of gelatin. He couldn't trust himself to move without slipping down to his knees ungracefully and drawing attention to himself.

They moved together like they knew what they were doing, and the look on Dirk's face... it looked like he might actually really like it. He was moving like he couldn't get enough of it at least. And the soft noises he'd make.

John's breathing came a bit faster, eye lids drooping to half mast. The air was filled with a thick scent, cloying and musky. The submissive shivered when he breathed it in, feeling it heat up his insides. He could almost imagine what it was Jake must be feeling, or even what Dirk was.

"Mmnh..." John bit his lip hard on a sudden and very embarrassing sound. He swore he could almost feel a tingle at the small of his back, a strange sensation that was... it just... it was weird. He squeezed his thighs together on the growing heat between his legs, another little sound escaping him.

Oh god, his eyes widened again, glancing down to make sure he hadn't been heard

* * *

His wings shivered, fluttering fast and opening slowly with each roll of his hips. They had Jake's attention, and he knew it. Jake's hands fit snugly over his hips, fingers curling, squeezing, fighting the urge to take control, to guide Dirk's movements, to use him like Jake had asked Dirk to use him for his own pleasure, and all because he didn't want to lose sight of his wings as they quivered with each fall of his hips.

Dirk leaned over his mate, hot breaths mingling in desperate, panting gasps, wet mouths brushing over and over again as Dirk lifted his hips, only to slowly come back down, over and over again moans intermingling.

Dirk stilled for a half beat when he thought he heard a noise, only to pick up like nothing had happened. Jake didn't notice, his thoughts otherwise occupied.

"Jake," he moan, lifting himself up again, back straight, head tipped back in bliss, and he caught sight of wild, dark locks and an impossibly blue face about a floor above them.

Oh really now?

Well... Jake had told him to put on a show.

* * *

Oh shit... holy fuck. Fiery eyes were steadily locked on his. Dirk was staring right at him! He was so incredibly screwed!

"Ungh, oh fuck, Jake..."

Wait... Dirk wasn't outing him, wasn't stopping, and maybe it was John's imagination, but the blond had just gotten a little louder...

"Ah... mmmn...!"

Okay, that was definitely louder! And then... Dirk winked at him! The asshole had just definitely winked at him!

That... that... asshole! This was the perfect time to run and never breathe a word of it to anyone... ever! But his body was still refusing to cooperate. It was like Dirk was holding John in place with his eyes alone.

He squirmed a little, feeling a pressure building between his legs, not just the familar throbbing ache that he had grown used to as a teenager, but another one, a different sort of clenching ache that almost seemed to itch. Oh god, oh god no, this was not happening! Ignore it and it will go away!

* * *

"Sweet molasses, what's gotten into you, Strider?" Jake gasped. It felt like a sudden switch and been flipped inside the blond. His body thrummed with heat and his voice grew louder, and sweet merciful heavens, the way he'd grip him all the tighter.

"G-giving you a show worth attending," Dirk gasped as he rocked faster, ground down desperately. Leaning over, he kissed his mate ravenously, moaning openly into his mouth.

He knew he should have felt bad about what he was doing, but it wasn't like it had been what he had planned it all along. And just because some nosy twerp had decided he wanted a show didn't mean that he was going to stop what he was doing, what he had been craving for months now, since the moment he had last seen Jake.

And he might have a little exhibitionist kink. Oops.

But it was as if he could feel everything more now, hyper-aware of every millimeter of Jake inside him, the push, tug, glide of their flesh moving against each other, sparks of bliss firing up along his spine with each roll of his hips, the ghost of Jake's breath cool over his wet, overheated skin.

And John Egbert's eyes staring straight at him, the force of his gaze almost a physical caress.

"Mmngh," he bit back a sudden moan, shuddering hard, "Jake... fuck, Jake, please..."

And Jake knew just what he was asking for, what he wanted, without word, without clarification, gripping Dirk's hips and guiding him into a harder, faster pace. Drawing out desperate, hiccuping, gasping moans. He was always like that, knowing just what he wanted and giving it to him and so much more.

"Nngh, Dirk...!" Jake gasped, voice shaky, mixing with a growing rumble in his chest.

"Fuck," was Dirk's eloquent response, shaking all the way down to the tips of his curling toes, "fuck, Jake...! Harder!"

He was reaching his peak, he could feel it, all the heat boiling inside him concentrating to one focal point. And Jake was relentless, slamming up into him even as he urged him down hard, angling his hips so perfectly he was seeing stars. It was almost enough to forget about their captive audience, but that's when he noticed it, a softly sweet, musky scent that was different from him or Jake. Someone else's pheromones. A submissive's...

His head tipped back, hazy eyes catching sight of wide, startled azure. Dirk managed a smirk between heavy pants for breath, wetting his lips with the tip of his tongue and winking at his audience of one.

'Like what you see?'

* * *

John's breath caught in his throat, muscles jumping. Dirk's message was loud and clear.

'Like what you see?'

What was he doing?! He should have left long ago, turned around and acted like he had never seen anything... but even now he couldn't tear his gaze away, couldn't get his feet to obey his commands. His stomach felt weird, hot and squirmy, twisting itself into tight knots that weren't entirely unpleasant. His breath was coming in soft, shallow pants, and he started to feel too hot in his clothes. He couldn't stand still, feeling a thrum in his lower stomach that had him wriggling in place, thigh muscles flexing, legs rubbing together. He knew what it meant, but he didn't want to think about it. Couldn't...

"Aah! Mmn!" duo voices sounded together in a cacophony of pleasure, and John was drawn out of his thoughts in time to watch the couple below reach their apex.

* * *

His muscles felt like jelly, warm, content jelly. And on top of him, his blond mate was a warm blanket. Their bodies still moved together even now, only it was the rapid in and out of their breathing that kept them pressed flush, sweat slick skin sliding together. Jake smoothed soothing hands over Dirk's back, rubbing gently at the base of his wings, loving the way the blond quivered on top of him.

"We just finished, Jake... You really wanna start again?" Dirk's voice was muffled against his throat.

Jake chuckled, "I might. That was quite a performance you put on there. Just thinking about it gets my blood boiling again." But he stopped rubbing his shoulder blades anyways, gliding fingers along Dirk's shoulder instead. His mate was so pale, a peachy color barely tanned at all. He couldn't get over comparing it to his own darker hues. It was strangely beautiful, laying his arm over Dirk's and comparing, oddly complimenting in their dissimilarity.

"Pff, you're the one that kept me waiting for so long, and now you act as if you're the one desperate for me," Dirk said, placing a nipping little kiss on the English man's throat, sucking a part onto a spot along his collarbone.

"Mmn, yes... be that as it may, your behavior doesn't really seem to protest the idea of another go soon, either." Jake felt those teasing lips pull into a thin smirk against his skin.

"Maybe I'm not protesting at all... But we should probably get to one of our room's first. You never know when someone can decide they want to explore the tower and find us here."

Jake tensed, then just as quickly forced himself to relax again, "That seems severely unlikely."

"Not as unlikely as you may think," Dirk murmured, glancing up at a spot on the railing of the floor above.

"What?" Jake asked, tryng to follow his gaze. There was... nothing to see up there, just the railing. The brunette's eyes furrowed, turning his gaze back to his boyfriend.

"Nothing," Dirk said softly, ducking his head back down to place one last nipping kiss on Jake's jaw. "Let's go."

* * *

John stumbled blind, not really knowing where he was going, just that he had to get away. That had been close. That had been so close! Dirk had almost given him away! And then what would he say? How could he explain that he wasn't a peeping tom, he just happened to come upon them and just happened to stay there, hidden away from them, watching them have sex? He couldn't! Because that wasn't what he had been doing even when it looked like that had been exactly what he had been doing.

And that wasn't even touching the subject of the heat still taking residence in the pit of his stomach, not to mention the tight pressure he felt in his jeans, the dizzy, head pounding feeling of just... needing release. But... but it was wrong, and he had been watching two guys, and... and what?

John shook his muddled thoughts away, finding the staircase again by some crazy miracle. He just... had to make it to his room and not think again for the rest of the night. And then by morning everything would be normal, and he'd never mention what he saw to anyone, especially not how he had reacted to it. Because... because... because!

His name is John Egbert and he is seventeen years old... and as much as his life had already given him a complete about face on everything he thought he understood, it had proven to him once again on this night that things could always get weirder.

* * *

Merry Belated Christmas! I actually wanted to have this chapter out by the 25th, but I hurt my back the 24th, and it really put a dampener on my plans. I'm sorry ;-; But you get an extra long chapter to hopefully make up for it? Almost 16k words! Dear lord, this is a problem! XD; But here it finally is! The Dirk/Jake I promised forever and a day ago! With a bonus of voyeur!John! I hope it came out alright. I'm wonky on pain meds. '^' I can't help but imagine that Jake would name all his fairy bulls after TV or movie fairies. Probably books as well. If you have any ideas for names, feel free to share them! :3 I also imagine the tower to be some weird, not spooky version of the mansion from The Haunting, so there will be mention of strange rooms. I'm also open for taking ideas on cool rooms Jake and Jade could have in their home. :D All in all, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think! For now I'm gonna go and pass out again, these meds make me so sleepy! Until next time!


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